Bass is Not a Fish (Book One)
by Red Draco
Summary: You may have read BNF already. Or you may have not. It's the story of Zero from his birth to his death at the hands of Vile during the first Maverick War. "Book One" covers his creation in Wily's lab, and his education with his beloved big bro, Bass.


Somewhere on this earth, children laugh and play in the sunshine and toxic waste.

Somewhere out there, a doggy is chasing his little tail...right into traffic. 

Beneath this great big sky, an idiot is burning himself with a nice warm cup of McDonald's watered - down coffee. 

But none of those happy things are happening here...because it's Auntie Draco's story time!! Huzzah! 

Yes, I know we just recently gathered to hear the heartwarming tale of Zero Tolerance. But this 'ere's a new tale! It's fresh! It's 100% Uh - Huh! It's the PREQUEL to ZT! Yee haa! So break out the apple juice (yes, apple juice; when I served you children ale last time, yer parents gave me hell), and listen as I spin my yarn....(Hey! I see you sneaking out! Get back in here! Suffer and perish like a good little child.) 

Somewhere on this planet of monkeys and apes, a sleek black and yellow robot wanders, looking for blood. His eyes mean death. His hands could choke you like a chicken. And he has a funky cool helmet. He's an infamous bugger who goes by the name of Bass. Of course, many of you know him deep down inside yourselves. It's an icky, bloody place, somewhere close to your bowels. That's where you know him. 

You may be thinking..."Who is this 'Bass'? What does he want? And whatever happened to Pez candy?" 

Heh..I assure you, my little hatchlings, that there are logical answers to these questions. Bass is indeed Wily's robot, and he plays an integral role in the creation of....Oops, there I go again, blowing the plot in an intro. So, little uns, buckle your seatbelts, man the lifeboats and pray to your God. Because this is where I take you far away on a journey where we will come to the shocking realization that.....

BASS IS NOT A FISH

**Book One**  
by [**Red Draco**][1]

Chapter One: Interview with the Vampire

The wind wailed like a tormented banshee as it wove eerily between the black branches of the skeletal trees. Joining in on the terrible sound, a family of wolves, silhouetted against the huge platinum disc of the moon, raised their noses and howled. Not too far off was the far deeper, more awful howl of a werewolf. Bats twittered and flitted about on the cool night air. 

"What a nice day," Bass thought to himself as he took all this in. "It's the kind of day that makes life worth living." 

Bass heard heavy, bestial breathing not too far behind him. He was being pursued. Bass, however, did not turn around to challenge his new shadow. He didn't have the time to stop if he was to meet Shade Man that night. It was Gospel's fault; the dratted dog had insisted on bounding from dead tree to tree to smell all the new scents. (We interrupt this story to bring you an important message: I call 'Treble' by his Japanese name; 'Gospel'. Why? Because I gotta!) 

Now the metallic canine loped obediently beside his master. When he became aware of the fact that they were being followed, he whined and growled fiercely; however, he still kept up the brisk pace that Bass was setting. 

Suddenly, a huge human/lupine form leapt at Bass from behind. Its eyes were lit like green lamps, and its maw of razor edged teeth was aimed right for the back of the black robot's neck. 

Not even bothering to turn around, Bass simply pointed his charged cannon behind him and fired the blast. The lycanthrope yelped like a puppy, and collapsed to the ground in a heap of smoking brown fur. 

"Now where was I...? Oh yeah. What a nice day..." 

Bass noted with a great deal of satisfaction that he was very close to his destination...Shade Man's cathedral. Bass passed through the crumbling stone arch that marked the final stretch to the robotic vampire's hideout. Here, several ravens perched like black spirits. Seeing movement below him, the lead raven unfolded his wings and screeched at Bass. Bass merely turned around and waved at the huge bird. 

"Hey Flagg! Kick - butt weather we're having, eh? Do me a favour and don't try to peck my eyes out today, 'kay? I haven't the time." Bass resumed his trot towards the cathedral. 

At the entrance to the old church, Bass stopped to admire the two stone dragons that 'guarded' the place. They were forever perched, one on each side of the giant wooden double doors, on huge blocks of stone. Their petrified heads were craned back towards the sky. Their mouths were wide open, screaming a silent warning to anyone who dared to pass them. Their stiff batlike wings were furled, as if they were testing the wind. Bass gave one of the dragon statues a little pat on the neck as he brought his fist down on the cathedral's door. His summons were answered quickly by a small green and grey robot knight that moved about on one wheel. 

"Welcome to the abode of the Damned." The knight rasped. "Do you have an appointment?" 

"To hell with the appointments! I'm Bass!" The sleek robot snarled. 

The knight threw open the door all the way, and bowed his head. "Lord Bass! I'm sorry..the light was bad, and I didn't recognize you. It's truly a pleasure to have you with us...I am honoured to..." 

"That's nice, but I really don't care. I just want to see Shade." 

The robot knight bowed over and over again. "I shall summon master Shade. Please, come in and make yourself at home." 

Bass allowed himself to be lead into a shabby foyer. There was nothing much to look at. Just the same old decaying stone that the rest of Shade's murky territory seemed to be made of. The knight wheeled over to the door that lead to the rest of the cathedral and Shade Man's chamber. Here the knight was presented with a small problem; he had to open the door using a doorknob, but he didn't have any hands. Just two lances at the end of his arms. The knight frowned as he fumbled with the doorknob over and over again. 

"Oh dear..." 

Bass smirked. "Here, let me help ya." Bass opened the door quite easily. The knight gave his superior a look of gratitude as he wheeled off to search for Shade Man. 

Bass leaned against one of the walls and drummed out a little beat on it with his fingers while he went over his plans for the twentieth time. He was feeling very happy with himself; surely his plot would work. Bass seated himself on the dirty stone floor. Gospel came up to him and wordlessly nudged his head between Bass' body and arm, asking for his ears to be rubbed. 

Bass looked at the canine sternly. "Stop that. You're supposed to be a fierce attack dog! Sit down." 

Gospel cocked his head at Bass and panted. 

"Sit!" 

Gospel wagged his tail. 

"SIT!" 

Gospel yawned. 

"C'mon...sit! Pretty please?" 

Gospel rolled over to have his tummy scratched. 

Bass sighed and slumped against the wall again. While Gospel could probably rip out the throat of an elephant, there were also times when he could act like an idiotic puppy. That always drove Bass nuts. 

Bass' mental griping was interrupted by the sound of leathery wings creaking above him. Bass glanced up in alarm, and sure enough, there was Shade Man wheeling above him and coming in for a landing. Bass quickly scrambled to his feet to properly meet the vampire. Shade and Bass were very good friends. 

"Hey, Shade!" 

Shade Man grinned. His fangs gleamed horribly in the moonlight that filtered through the small windows in the foyer. "Good evening Bass," Shade said as he performed his custom little bow. "nice to have you with us today. Did Flagg give you any troubles on your way to see me?" 

"Nah, Flagg's a good bird. Usually. So what's new?" 

"Oh, nothing's new." Shade said with a shrug of leathery wings. He absently pet Gospel who had come up to greet the vampire. "Seducing women, biting necks, midnight snacks...the usual schlepps that come with commanding an Unholy Army of the Night. Never mind me, how have you been? How's Doc Wily?" 

Bass' face fell. " The Doc's not that good, I'm afraid." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. This seventh Robot Rebellion is going pretty well for him...the robots he had put into hibernation in case of his capture had activated and broken him out of jail, just like he had planned. Now he has you, Slash Man, Spring Man and Turbo Man working in addition to those four. Yet, he just doesn't seem to...well, care! He had always been so eager during a robot rebellion. But it looks like he's lost his passion for the game. His attempts at attacking Mega Man seem pretty feeble." 

Shade Man frowned. "Ah. That's too bad. Perhaps it is his age?" 

Bass shrugged. "I'm sure I don't know. You know how humans are always going through mood swings. But I have a plan that might cheer him up. I'll need a bit of your help, though." 

Shade Man considered this. "Tell me your plan first." 

Bass nodded. Fair enough. "As it stands, Mega Man doesn't know I'm a bad boy. He thinks I'm fighting Wily, like him. I'm sure he suspects deep down that I'm not a good fellow, but he's not doing anything about it. Sooo....I'm gonna pretend I'm hurt. Mega Man will spot me, and, being the compassionate idiot that he is, offer to teleport me to Light's stinking lab for repairs. I'll accept, and when I'm there, I'll find something of value to steal. Maybe some plans for an upgrade, or something. I don't know. Just a little nick - knack that might make the Doc more cheerful. What do you think?" 

Shade grinned again. "I like, I like. What do you want me to do?" 

"Oh, that's easy. Shoot me." 

Shade raised a questioning eyebrow. "Shoot you?" 

"Yeah. Just give me a small shot on my shoulder." 

"All right. You're da boss." Shade agreed reluctantly. He raised his arm cannon and released a small plasma charge at Bass' shoulder blade. The shot couldn't have made a kindergarten student stagger. But Bass reeled dramatically, holding his shoulder which was bleeding very slightly. 

"Oh! You nasty old robot! How dare you? Mega Man's gonna get you for that one!" 

Both the evil bots shared a laugh. 

"Well, I'm off to meet Mega Man!" Bass said, once he had calmed down. "Thanks, Shade." 

"Not a problem. By the way...." 

"Yeah?" 

"How do you know where to meet Mega Man?" 

"Oh. I know for a fact that he's on his way to meet you." Bass said airily. "I had a bit of a rough time trying to keep ahead of him." 

Shade's normally bleached face went paler still. "What?" 

"Thanks a million Shade! Byes!" Bass said briskly, as he teleported out of Shade's foyer in a shiny black beam. 

A few minutes later, Bass kneeled by the dark steps of Shade Man's cathedral, trying his level best to look like he was mortally wounded. Gospel ran in circles around his master, worried that the sleek robot might really be hurt. Gospel was fierce and loyal, but his IQ was that of stale bread. 

"Beat it, Gospel." Bass hissed at his companion through clenched teeth. Gospel paid no heed as he lay by Bass and whined. Suddenly the purple and silver robodog leapt to his paws and growled at something in the darkness. Bass grinned; he was almost certain that he knew what Gospel was upset at. Sure enough, as he strained to see further in the darkness, he could see a small blue form making its way towards the two. 

"Lights, camera, action!" Bass thought to himself. 

As soon as he was in striking distance, Gospel launched himself at Mega Man with a tremendous howl. 

"Yikes! Down, Lassie!" Bass heard the blue bomber yelp. 

"Gospel! Come here!" Bass commanded. The dog reluctantly bounded back to his master's side. Once Gospel was out of the way, Bass could see Mega Man looking down at him with a questioning expression. Bass recited his lines. 

"Damn. I got careless." Bass muttered, clutching his shoulder. "Maybe I should give up and leave Wily to you." 

Bass' heart gave a wild leap of excitement when Mega answered him. 

"No. We're a team. Dr. Light would be glad to fix you up." 

Bass bowed his head so that Mega wouldn't be able to see his wry smile. 

"Thanks. I'm glad I have a friend like you...."

Chapter Two: Of Humans And Robots

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day to be neighbors..." 

"Hey Proto," 

"Yeah?" 

"Would you mind shutting up? Your singing leaves much to be desired." 

"We - ll....okay. But only 'cause you're my sis." 

Protoman and Roll sat on the porch of Light's lab, soaking in a beautiful spring day. Mr. Sun was smiling, birds wheeled and circled in the azure sky, and flowers bloomed (along with some weeds). It was the sort of weather that made one want to jump and turn cartwheels. However, neither of the bots felt like doing this. They preferred to sit and stare off into the distance, hoping for something interesting to happen. 

"You know," Protoman said suddenly in a lazy tone, "Mr. Rogers is one messed up individual. He gets undressed in front of little children." 

Roll frowned. "I don't think that taking off your shoes in front of a TV camera counts as getting undressed, Proto." 

Protoman shrugged his plated shoulders. "Whatever. Shoes or no, Mr. Rogers still scares me." 

Although Roll couldn't disagree with that remark, she decided to change the uneasy topic. 

"Isn't it a beautiful day?" 

Proto took a halfhearted glance at the nature surrounding him, and shrugged again. "I suppose so. It's not that big of a deal to me." 

"I'm not surprised, since you can't see any of it with that visor in front of your eyes." 

Proto became offended. "Hey. Don't dis the visor. It's my friend." 

Roll grinned. "But how can you SEE anything?" 

Proto stood up. "I can see just fine!" He said haughtily. He tried to reenter the lab, but was stopped short when he bashed into the doorframe. 

"Ouch." He whined. 

Roll fought back the urge to say "I told you so". Instead, she tapped Proto on his metallic leg. "Sit down for a sec. I want to talk to you." 

Proto frowned. The heat of the sun was causing him to slowly to cook alive in his heavy silver and maroon armour, but he obeyed. Taking his place next to Roll again, he removed his scarf in an effort to cool off a bit. 

"What's on your mind?" 

Roll's expression became serious. "I just want to know why you don't seem to hang around the lab that much. True, I see you often, but what about Rock? He'd really like to see more of you." 

Proto's face darkened like a thundercloud. "Rock's my brother, and he's a good fellah, but to be perfectly honest with you Roll, I don't need to hear his preaching on what a good team we could be if we joined up and fought together. He doesn't seem to respect the fact that I work best when I'm alone. Everytime I meet up with him, he tries to persuade me to work with him. I've told him as nicely as possible to bugger off and let me do things at my own pace, but no matter how many times I repeat this, he always confronts me with the same question; 'When are you going to stop skulking around on your own? Why don't you stay and help me fight Wily'? And good golly miss Molly, it DOES get tiring to hear that over and over again." 

Roll nodded a bit sadly. "Maybe I could have a talk with him." 

"Don't bother. It probably won't work." Proto said heavily. Then he sighed and said, "I suppose Rock is still off fighting Wily right now?" 

"Uh huh." Muttered Roll while she traced some lines in the dirt in front of her with a broken twig. "Man, that guy is getting on my nerves. Rock's, too, I'm sure." 

"I don't see why they don't just give that guy the Chair." Proto remarked as he unconsciously wove a noose out of his removed scarf. 

Roll nodded in agreement. "I don't see why Rock just doesn't kill him." 

Proto stopped fiddling with his scarf. He dropped it in surprise. He dropped his jaw as well. Proto grabbed Roll by her shoulders and shook her wildly. 

"Don't ever....ever....EVER SAY THAT!" He hissed frantically. 

Roll seemed confused, and with good reason. "Why...? What did I say?" 

Proto regained his composure. "Sorry Roll. It's just that...well...I don't want you saying anything that will give Rock any ideas, although killing Wily is a damned good one. I'm scared that Rock might try it one day. Do you understand what problems would arise then? It would make our lives a living hell." 

Roll looked at her brother dumbly. "But why?" 

"I take it you don't know too much about the Rules of Robotics?" 

Roll had to admit that she did not know very much. 

"Well, it's a sort of Ten Commandments for robots." Proto educated her. "Except I don't think that there are ten rules of robotics. Still, there are quite a few, and the first one is to be obeyed without fail: 'A robot is never to harm a human being'. Could you imagine what would happen if Rock killed Wily? He'd be deactivated for sure. Like a dog that bites, a robot that kills humans is bound to do it again. And that is a very dangerous thing. Could you think of Rock on a killing spree? You'd need a bloody army to stop the guy!" 

"Oh." Roll said. She seemed to be feeling a bit guilty about bringing up the whole topic. 

Proto read her mind. "That's all right." He sighed. "It's just something I don't really like to think about. I'm just worried sick that Rock is gonna lose it one day and blast a hole through Wily. A robot is programmed to follow the rules as closely as possible, but you know how humanlike Rock can be at times. His emotions can sometimes get the best of him. I think he'd try taking a shot at Wily. Then he would be killed, and we'd be surrounded by the media...Oy gavalt, I get such a headache just thinking about it!!" 

An uneasy silence was the only answer from Roll. Proto shifted uncomfortably. 

"Roll..." 

"Yeah?" 

"If I told you a secret...would you swear to keep it under your hood? I mean, don't even tell it to Rock? I don't want him to start worrying over stupid things." 

Roll's mechanical heart skipped a beat. She wondered if her brother was going to reveal himself to be an alien. That would explain an awful lot. "I swear." 

"All right. I trust you. Light told me that he's working on some plans for a new robot." 

Roll seemed disappointed. "That's not so unusual." 

"No, my ignorant little sibling. Not just ANY robot!" 

Roll's interest sparked again. "Go on." 

Proto looked at her sternly from behind his visor. "If Light's plans translate into actions, we're going to see a robot that is radically different from any bot you and I have ever known. This robot will have tremendous strength..." 

"So?" Roll interrupted again. "A strong robot is nothing to write home to mother about." 

"Roll, will you be a dear and let me TALK for ten seconds without being stopped? Thank you. Like I was saying, this robot will also possess emotions that are almost identical to those of humans. It will be able to choose its own path in life, as its programming won't restrain it from doing anything it wants to do. That means that this robot could break the rules of robotics with ease, if he chose to do so." 

Roll still did not seem too impressed. "A robot with emotions? Big deal. We have emotions, right?" 

"Yes," agreed Protoman, "but our emotions are somewhat primitive. We're still enslaved by our programming quite a bit. What we possess is really nothing compared to what a human can feel. But this mystery 'bot will have the thoughts and feelings of a human. Think of it, Roll. A robot that can love, hate, feel anger, etc. A robot that follows its thoughts and emotions, not its programming." 

"I think that sounds wonderful," Roll said as she took all this in. 

Protoman got to his feet. "No, it's NOT wonderful." He said in an annoyed tone. "Don't you see the point I'm trying to get across? Would you like me to use sign language? Let me sum this up for you. A robot that can think, feel, and break the laws of robotics is a dangerous thing! What if this robot DOES decide to kill humans. Do you think anyone could stop it? It would be exactly like an angry human that is almost indestructible. It's bad news. I've told Light that he's sowing dragon's teeth with this whole idea. He just laughed and told me to relax, because he has only made the plans for this robot and he hasn't really had any thoughts of carrying out the instructions for some time, if ever." Proto sighed and slumped down again. "I guess he's right. Maybe I should lighten up. I'm just really worried about those plans falling into the wrong hands, i.e. Wily." Proto paused and cocked his head to one side. "'Worry'. THERE'S an emotion we posses! Pretty funky, huh? Maybe we're not so primitive as I originally thought." 

Roll smiled and patted her brother on his arm. "There now. There's no reason to worry about phantom robots. We'll see what happens. Just quit living in the future. We have bigger things to worry about in the present." 

Proto gazed off into the distance again and frowned suddenly. 

"Yeah. And here comes one of those problems." 

Roll whisked around to see what Proto was so upset about. She could see a small black and yellow form making staggering towards the duo. A purple and silver four - footed figure trotted alongside the robot. 

"Isn't that....?" 

"Bass." Proto growled. "And that miserable mutt of his. I really don't trust that guy, and I only put up with him for Light's sake." 

"My, you're so trusting. No wonder you have so many friends." Roll teased him. "I personally think that Bass is all right. Besides, it looks like he's hurt or something." 

"Well then, you just have a yabba - dabba - do time with Mr. Bass." Proto told her while getting to his feet. He retrieved the precious scarf that he had dropped earlier. "I don't want to even look that guy in the face. I'll see you later, 'kay? If Bass tries anything smart, just kick him in the groin. That always works for me when I have a pesky human reporter chasing me down for an interview. G'bye!" 

Proto was engulfed by a red beam, then gone. 

Sometime later in Dr. Light's oh - so - famous lab, Bass skipped about as merrily as a drunk dwarf. He had been admitted to the lab and repaired with no problems. That took care of part one of his plan. Now it was time for phase two. Bass tagged at Light's heels, pestering the old scientest just for the fun of it. Suddenly, Bass stopped and tapped Light on the shoulder while pointing to a curious object that lay on a nearby shelf. 

"Hey Doc, what's that?" 

"Oh, that's my new invention. It's called the Energy Balancer, and it's function is to --" 

"'Energy Balancer'? That's a stupid name. What's that?" Bass pointed to another object. 

"That's my laser cannon. It's very handy for --" 

"Oh never mind. What's that?" 

Dr. Light rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Bass, could you please give it a rest for a minute? I never knew that any robot was capable of asking so many stupid questions." 

Bass became offended. "Sorry. I can't help it if I'm inquisitive." 

Dr. Light clearly felt bad about telling off the robot. "I'm sorry, Bass. It's just that your questions have given me a migraine." 

The corners of Bass' mouth twitched ever so slightly. "Gee. Isn't that a shame?" He patted his newly - patched shoulder, where Shade Man had previously shot him. "By the way, thanks for the repairs." 

"No thanks needed. It was a simple procedure." 

"Well, thanks just the same." Bass suddenly lunged at a table and grabbed a half completed fragile construction that rested upon it. The creation promptly slipped out of his eager grasp, and shattered to bits on the tiled floor. 

"Oh well. You can't win 'em all." Bass remarked with a casual shrug. He swept up the debris with his foot and kicked it under a table. 

Light involuntarily winced at the sight of his hard work splattered all over the floor. 

"No...and sometimes you can't win AT all..." 

Bass looked up. "Hm? What was that you said?" 

"Nothing." 

Before Light could even stop him, Bass sprung towards a storage shelf that rested in the far side of the lab. As quick as a squirrel, Bass hauled himself to the top of the shelf. His eye fell on a thick notebook that resided there. Bass grabbed it and began to flip through it without hesitation. 

"Wow!" The sleek bot called down to Light. "Are these plans for upgrades to Mega and Rush? They're the creamiest! You should....aurgh!" 

Bass' last word was uttered in surprise as he began to notice that the shelf was falling...with him on it! Bass went 'el splatto' as the structure tipped over with him beneath it. Light hurried over to make sure that the bot was all right. 

Bass managed to lift up the fallen shelf and squirm out from under it. 

"I'm alright. Really, I am..." 

Light frowned. "Bass, it would please me if you kept your paws off of my stuff." He glanced with alarm at the notebook that Bass clutched. "In fact, give me back that book." 

Bass grinned hellishly. "I'm sorry Hal. I can't do that." Bass grabbed a table and lifted it above his head with no problem whatsoever. "Here! CATCH!" He bellowed as the heaved the object towards Light. The table hit Light square and true, knocking him over and pinning him down to the floor. 

"Bass...WHAT is...going...on?" Light demanded. 

In answer, Bass simply extracted a small bomb with one hand, and waved the thick notebook with the other. 

"I said I liked your plans for this little upgrade! So I'm ripping them off for Wily! Isn't that nice of me?" Bass swept over the room with a glance. "I just wonder if there's anything else of value to steal..." Bass walked away from Light and over to the back of the lab, where there was a vault, and a small window. "Well lookie here, Pard! A vault! Gee, I wonder what's inside?" 

Dr. Light frantically renewed his struggle to get out from under the table. "Get away from there!" 

Bass simply tossed the bomb he was holding up and down like a black baseball. 

"I like bombs. Don't you? Bomb Man gave me this one for a Christmas gift. I felt sorta bad about receiving it...after all, all I got Bomb Man was a lousy pair of dollar socks. Now, if I were you, I'd get down low to the ground. You don't want any shrapnel in your eye!" Bass hurled the bomb at the safe and dove to the ground in one smooth motion. Sure enough, the bomb exploded on contact. It blew the door off of the safe in addition to blowing up a good quarter section of the lab. Light was not hurt, but he became utterly terrified to see Bass rummage through the safe's contents. Bass eventually pulled out some materials that interested him. 

"Well, isn't this interesting!" The black bot remarked as he shuffled through a bunch of papers and computer disks that he had taken out of the safe. "These look like plans of some sort...." Bass took a closer look at the papers. "Plans for...a 'reploid'. Now what in the sam hill is a 'reploid'? Oh well, whatever it is, I'm sure Wily will be interested in it." Bass collected the papers along with the notebook he had snatched earlier. 

"Give those plans back to me!" Dr. Light cried desperately. 

Bass snickered. "Okay. Let me get this straight. Here in my hand, I have something that is obviously of great value. In fact, it might even help Wily take over the world. And you, my enemy, is laying there as helpless as a kitten. So you want ME to just GIVE you back the plans? As if I'm just gonna walk over to you and say, 'Here you go Dr. Light. I was just kidding'? I REALLY don't think so! Sorry old chap. It's like those horror movies where the heroine is being pursued by a nasty monster, so she goes upstairs and locks the door. Like a locked door is really gonna stop Satan?" 

Bass' fun was interrupted by the sound of the lab door crashing open. There stood Mega Man, his mouth sagging open in disbelief. His gaze went from the destroyed lab to Dr. Light pinned under the heavy table to Bass and back to the destroyed lab again. 

"Holy Queen Mother! What's been going on here!?" He demanded angrily. 

Bass waved at the blue bomber. "Too late, Mega Man! He who hesitates is...oh, screw it. See you around!" 

With that, Bass whistled to Gospel who instantly bounded to his master's side. Bass threw himself out the window that was positioned beside the destroyed safe. Unfortunately for the sleek bot, the window was closed, and jumping through the thick glass caused him a wee bit of pain. Light and Mega could hear Bass' rapidly receding voice float back up to them from below. 

"OUCH! Damn, that hurt! Don't you idiots ever open your windows? Let some fresh air in! It'll do ya good!"

Chapter Three: A Secret Fear of Furry Mammals...

As Skull Castle grew larger and larger on the horizon, Bass stopped his brisk pace to take a moment to congratulate himself. Everything had gone peachy. Now all that remained was to take those curious plans he had obtained to Wily. Bass glanced at the papers he held. He was sadly confused about exactly what they were, but they seemed important. However, when he had tried to read them, they were nothing more than jargon to him. It was probably only stuff that Wily could really understand. Bass shrugged and approached the forbidding maw of his master's castle. 

"STOP RIGHT THERE, PRETTY BOY!" Two identical voices boomed in unison. Two small look alike figures suddenly jumped in Bass' path. One raised its arm cannon at the sleek bot and fired a shiny, aqua blue beam. Bass yelped and threw himself upon the ground. The beam whizzed over his head and smacked into a rock with an exploding sound, where it ricocheted at a 45 degree angle and smashed one of the upper level windows of Skull Castle. Another shot promptly followed the first one. This one bounced off of a tree and fried a squirrel. Still, Bass cowered in the dust while opening one eye to try to get an idea of who these new threats were. Bass caught a glimpse of the midday sun flashing off of the rough, crystal surface of his attackers' blade - edged armour. The rain of laserfire still flew thick, but none of it touched Bass. Then Bass understood just who he was up against. He hauled himself to his feet. 

"CASTOR! POLLUX! STOP IT, YOU BLOODY IDIOTS!" Sure enough, the Gemini Men withheld their fire and trembled in fear as Bass towered over them. Bass' face was one gigantic frown. He didn't appreciate it when people attempted to murder him. 

"B...B....Bass...sss....ss...I...didn't know it was....you..." One of the Gemini Men stammered. The other one looked like he wished he could sink into the ground. 

The Gemini Men were robotic twins, and, as a result, you couldn't tell one apart from the other if your life depended on it. To try to lessen the massive cases of mistaken identity that came with the twins, they were actually named after the famous twins in the constellation of Gemini. One robot was Castor. His brother was Pollux. To attempt to lessen confusion even further, Wily imposed a strict rule on the twins: They each must wear a name tag at all times. Thus, since then, Castor has sported a large red sticker that read "HELLO, MY NAME IS CASTOR!" on the left side of his breastplate, while Pollux bore a sticker in the same area that screamed, "GOOD DAY, MY NAME IS POLLUX!". Neither of the bots wore their name tags with a great deal of pride. Still, the twins would never disobey Wily, even if the evil scientist ordered them to stick a screwdriver in their eyes. " Bass, I didn't know it was you!" Castor repeated pathetically. "That's why Pollux and I took a shot at you. You can't be too careful when Mega Man is wandering the streets, you know..." 

"Who did you think I was? The Easter Bunny?" Bass rumbled. "I take it that you did. In that case, I forgot to bring you some cheap chocolate eggs, but I brought you something MUCH better, Castor..." 

With that, Bass drew back his fist and gave Castor the finest uppercut you ever saw. The poor Gemini Man literally flew a good metre before splattering on the grass, where he lay splayed out like roadkill. Pollux quickly dropped to his twin brother's side and desperately tried to get him breathing again. Bass simply stepped over the mess he had created, and walked over to the small intercom system that was positioned outside of the massive main doors of the fortress. Bass skilfully punched in the code on the number panel that would allow him to talk directly to Wily himself. 

As Bass had expected, a heavy German voice floated through the intercom's speaker. "Vhat? Who is zere? Go avay. It'z nap time." Bass gave a wry grin. "It's only me, Doc. Bass. So you can knock off that kooky German accent." 

There was a small pause from the other end. 

"Really?" Bass nodded, although he knew full well that Wily couldn't see his actions from the other end of the 'com. "Yep." 

"Oh, that's a relief." Wily sighed. His voice had smoothed out to a typical Joe - Schmoe accent. "It's really a pain when I have to use that German voice. But it seems to be effective when I'm trying to strike fear into the hearts of..." 

"Doc, can you let me in already?" Bass interrupted rudely. "I've returned from ransacking Light's lab, and I have a few things that you might wanna see." 

"Oh certainly. Just a sec." 

"By the way, Doc," Bass remarked suddenly. "I'm afraid I just whupped Castor's pathetic behind again. I think he might need some major repairs." 

"Again? This is the third time this month! Bass, you have to learn to tolerate idiots more." 

"I try, Doc. Really, I do. " 

"Well, at any rate come in." Wily grumbled in a static - drowned voice. The gates to the entrance of the fortress slowly swung open. Before entering , Bass glanced behind him and saw Pollux gawking vacantly at him in fear and awe. Bass decided to have a little more fun. He pointed at the Gemini twin and barked in a commanding voice: 

"Gospel! Go kill!" Gospel liked nothing better than this command. He charged at Pollux with his great mouth wide open in a frightful roar. Pollux turned around and fled, screaming for his mother (obviously forgetting in his frenzy that he didn't HAVE one). He wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and as a result, tripped over the motionless body of his brother. Pollux tumbled clumsily to the grass just as Gospel pounced. Since Bass didn't care much for the sight of robotic blood, he turned around and entered the castle. Gospel could let himself in through the doggy - door when he was finished with his sport. 

Bass' good cheer began to diminish as he toiled up the winding stone staircase that snaked around the inside of Wily's tower. The tremendous set of stairs led towards the top of the fortress and Wily's chambers. Climbing them was always an adventure, not to mention a pain in the neck. 

"Why can't Wily just put in an elevator?" Bass grumbled to no one in particular. "And for that matter, why are his chambers at the top of the bloody castle? Couldn't he put his rooms on the main floor? No, wait...that would make too much sense for a human." 

The last stair was ascended, and Bass found himself in the mouth of a long hallway. It was only a bit further now. He started down the passageway, and almost immediately he met Snake Man, who was coming down the hall from the opposite direction. Bass smiled when he saw the reptilian robot. Snake Man was one of Wily's smarter robots, and, as a result, he had Bass' respect and friendship. 

"Ah, hello Bass!" Snake hissed. He approached Bass with a graceful sort of slither in his step. "What's up?" 

Bass grinned. "The sky." 

Snake rolled his slit - like eyes at the black bot. "That's very funny, Bass. I'm dying of laughter. You should write that up and send it to Seinfeld." 

"Hey!" Bass cried out suddenly. 

Snake looked at Bass in amusement. "Is something the matter?" 

Bass' eye fell on Snake Man's neck. There, draped in massive scaly coils, rested a python. It lifted its head and studied Bass with cold, beadlike eyes. 

"Cool! A real python!" Bass remarked. 

Snake nodded and grinned with pride. "Yes. He's my new pet." 

"What's his name?" Bass inquired as he (carefully) pet the triangular head of the python. 

"Monty." 

Bass chewed over this. "Monty...Python. Sort of has a nice ring to it. Well, I'm off to see the Doc. See you later!" Bass sprinted down the hall. 

Dr. Wily, an evil scientist we all know and love was in his main surveillance chamber with his feet up, dully watching a small TV. Behind him stood Smoky the Bear's worst nightmare... Fire Man. Wily usually spent all day in the surveillance chamber, watching the ongoings around the city. But today, he just wasn't in the mood. He stared silently at the television, bathed in its faint glow. Fire Man faithfully waited for any orders that his creator might give him, while wondering what kind of entertainment humans get from staring at images on a small black box. 

A sudden, jarring crash of the room's main doors being flung open announced Bass' arrival. Fire Man whipped around in alarm at the discord, but Wily didn't even twitch. 

"Have no fear, Bass is here!" Sang the ebony bot. 

Wily didn't even turn around. "Bass, how many times have I asked you not to slam doors around?" He droned. 

Bass frowned. "Wily, what IS it with you!? Do you want me to bring you some orange juice and prozac? Lighten up!" 

Fire Man approached his superior and lowered his voice, which sounded like a cross between a 20 year old furnace and the infamous cartoon pyro, Butthead. 

"Uh, Bass...The Doc's like...really...uh, bummed out or something. I wish there was something that could, uh, like, cheer him up. huh huh..." Bass shoved Fire Man to one side. "I have just the thing!" Bass rattled the plans in his hand. "Look, Wily! Lookit what I found! I think you might like this...!" 

Wily still stared at the TV like a zombie. "Will I, Bass? That's nice." Bass' rage began to mount. He felt the urge to throw a hyper spaz. "You didn't even LOOK! You don't even CARE!" 

"Wow, you know what Bass? You're right! Now leave me alone. Go water the plants." 

"TURN AROUND, DAMN YOUR SOUL!" Bass snarled as he stomped over to the television that had captivated Wily. The sleek bot easily grasped the TV and, with one mighty jerk, tore its plug right out of the socket. Bass then drop - kicked the box out the open door of the chamber. Bass could hear a muffled curse as the contraption hit someone outside of the room. Dr. Wily frowned. "Well now, Bass. That wasn't very nice." 

"I have nothing to do with nice!" The bot snapped. "You know that, Doc!" Wily smiled weakly as he sunk back into the wings of his overstuffed chair. 

"Ah, Bass. My last and greatest creation. I really outdid myself with you. You're so humanlike.." 

"Hold IT!" Bass said sharply. "What do you mean 'last' creation...?" Wily stirred uncomfortably. "I've made a decision, Bass. I'm old, and I'm tired of trying to take over the world when I really haven't gotten anywhere close to doing so for the past six attempts! I'm not creating anymore robots. I just want to live the rest of my years in a little bit of peace." "No! No no no a thousand times NO!" Bass cried in horror while jumping in one spot. 

Wily spoke loudly in an effort to be heard over the din that his assistant was creating. "It's finished, Bass! Done! Over! Finito! Now, here's a little secret; Although you don't know it, there is a tiny chip inside of you and all your brothers that will automatically shut you all down almost as soon as I've bought the farm. You'll never reactivate. None of you. Isn't that a comforting thought?" 

Bass stood stock still. "But why?" He finally squeaked. " Why do you want to do away with us? Don't you want us to live on and destroy mankind? Huh? Don't you?" 

Wily shook his bald head. "No. I've thought it over. Any way you look at it, I've been a bad boy almost all my life. Right from the time I reprogrammed Light's bots when we were partners!" Wily chuckled at the evil memory. 

"Yeah. Those were like, uh, the golden times Doc." Fire Man grunted from behind. 

"Yes." Wily sighed. "I need some rest from evil. Sort of a change, if you will. Something GOOD to look at when they check out the records of my life at the big computer in the sky. No need to check them, really. We all know where I'M going once I've left this mortal coil." 

"Peace?" Bass gasped. "Doc, watch your mouth! Please, look at what I've ripped off for you! It has to do with...fun!" 

"Gee, what could be more fun than eternal damnation?" 

"Well, not much." Bass admitted. "But put it this way. If you don't turn around right now and look at what I worked hard to obtain for you, I'll just stand right here and pester you until you do." 

"Do your worst." Wily challenged his creation in a growl. 

Bass pounced on that gladly. "Very well then. Doc, will you look at these sheets?" 

"No." 

"Doc, will you look at these sheets?" 

"No!" 

"Doc, will you look at these sheets?" 

"No!!" 

"Doc, will you look at these sheets?" 

"No!!!" 

"Doc, will you look at these sheets?" 

"NO!!!!" 

"Doc, will you..." 

"STOP! STOP IT! A human can only take so much, you know!" Bass beamed with triumph. "So, you'll look at what I brought you?" Wily grunted a response as he snatched the papers out of Bass' outstretched hand. "What are these?" 

Bass shrugged. "I know that the notebook you're holding has something to do with upgrades to Rush and Mega...but those stray papers...well, I have no idea what they are, but they seem to be very important. Ol' doc Light nearly had a heart attack when I started to handle them..." 

Wily's head jerked up. "You took these away in front of Light?" 

Bass nodded with a touch of pride. "Yep. He was pinned under a table that I - ahem! - threw at him. I daresay he was pretty helpless." 

A tiny hint of a smile crept up to the corners of Wily's mouth. "Well, isn't that nice?" Wily proceeded to study the papers Bass had nicked for him. Bass watched with a great deal of interest as Wily's eyes got larger and larger as he viewed what was before them. The black bot got quite a start when Wily suddenly jumped out of his overstuffed chair and began to run in small circles around the room with more energy then Bass could ever remember seeing in the scientist in a long, long time. Fire Man became spooked and hid under a table. 

"BASS!" 

"Whuuut?" 

"Do you have ANY idea what these plans are?" 

"Ah...no. I honestly have no idea what they are." 

"These are Light's best kept secrets!" Wily was now panting with exhaustion. He was forced to stop his mad whirlabout and breathe. "Plans for a robot...with emotions and free will!" 

"Is that good?" 

Wily regarded Bass with a vexed look on his anchient face. "Is that GOOD?" He echoed in disbelief. "Bass, it's amazing! Think of all the possibilities, the power..." 

Bass smiled wryly. Wily seemed to be getting back to his old, scheming self again. 

Wily's huge grin twisted to a frown as he looked at the crinkled plans again. 

"That idiot, Light, has already come up with a name for this 'creation' of his. Listen to this name, Bass! 'X'. What kind of name is that? I had a hamster named 'X' when I was a boy!" 

Bass pretended to be interested in the old human's ramblings. "What happened to him, Doc?" 

"Oh, I got bored with X, so I fed him to my pet alligator." Wily said absently. 

Bass grinned. "You're a good man, Doc. You have quite a heart." 

"Yes. Well, take my advice, Bass. Never get a hamster for a pet. They do nothing but chew paper at every waking moment, then they run on those little exercise wheels all night. The squeaking can drive you mad. I think that's how I got the way I am today." 

"Doc, you mean that you blame your unstable mind and violent nature on a harmless little hamster?" Bass inquired. 

"Yes." Wily said solemnly. "And it wasn't an 'innocent little hamster'! It was a MEAN hamster! It wanted to kill me! Every night it would plot my death and scurry out of its cage, wielding a butcher knife...it would climb up my bedsheets while I was asleep, and..and..." Wily's voice trailed off and he began to tremble at the disturbing memory. 

Bass was used to this sort of thing from Wily. "There now, Doc. The hamster won't bother you anymore." 

Wily's voice began to rise in volume as he continued to rave. "The hamster was AGAINST ME! I bet HE was the one who also turned my GOLDFISH against me! 

The goldfish tried to DROWN me! DROWN ME, I TELL YA! But I got the best of little furry X, Bass! I fed him to my alligator! SNAP!" - Here Wily mimicked an alligator's snapping jaws using him arms - "No more X! I could sleep at night again...until my German Shepherd found out where my parents kept the revolver..." 

Bass rubbed his eyes in frustration. The doc got more and more unstable as the days went on. Would he really be able to build one of these mysterious 'reploids'? 

"Doc..." 

Wily paused in his raving. "Yes Bass?" 

"Are you gonna use those plans or what? Are you gonna create a 'reploid'?" Wily cast his eyes down to the mysterious sheets. "I don't...know if I could, Bass. Remember, I said that I just wanted peace for the next little while. Besides, It would be too difficult for me to do on my own." 

"But Doc," Bass pleaded. "I'm sure that Light's gonna build this 'X' character if he hasn't started already. Look deep in your black soul. You don't want 'peace', certainly not in the future. You want death and destruction. Peace is for wusses. You know it and I know it. If you used these plans to your advantage, you could build your own little reploid to wreak havoc and destruction while you're gone. I mean, I'll admit it. Myself and my brothers wouldn't be much match for a robot like this strange 'X' fellow. I could tell by your reactions to those plans. But if you used these plans to build a 'reploid' of your own to rival this 'X' and to carry on your dirty work...well then...life would be good for future generations!" Bass elbowed Wily in his fragile ribs. "Am I right? Huh? Am I?" 

Wily had his chin resting in one hand, a sure sign that the old scientist was thinking. Bass had a chance to topple the balance towards his favour. "Of course, if you don't WANT to build this advanced robot...I'm sure that Light will be known forever as the scientist who built the most amazing machine in existence, and you'll just be known as Dr. Wily, the wuss scientist who couldn't compare to Light even though he had a chance to do so. Or, maybe you'll just be known as Dr. Wily, the scientist who couldn't win a bloody war to save his life, so he deactivated his miserable robots and just crawled quietly under the table, like the defeated dog he was..." 

"That's ENOUGH, Bass!" Wily roared. "I'm ten times the scientist Light is or will be! I'll build your miserable reploid! But you'll have to help me!!" 

Bass smirked and removed his helmet with a sweeping mock bow. "Anything you say, mein Wily!"

Chapter 4: A Bargain with the Black Demon

"Hey! Hey dad!" 

24 year - old Alex Wells had just enough time to turn 180 degrees before his young son tackled him affectionately in the stomach, throwing his small arms around his father. Alex beamed at the embrace. "Hey there, Paul. How's it going?" 

In response, Paul merely buried his face deeper into his father's stomach. "Okay, I guess. I just wanna know why you always have to go off to work." 

Alex chuckled softly as he ruffled his son's scruffy blonde hair, which was very much like his own long, light ponytail that hung nearly all the way down his back like molten gold. "Sorry 

m'boy, but I have to work a lot." 

Paul looked sulky. "Why?" 

"Because we need money to buy things." 

"Why do we need money to buy things?" 

"Because life's a You - Know - What, and then you marry one!" Alex pried his reluctant son off of his midsection. "Tell your ma that I'll be back later tonight." 

"I will," Paul muttered, dejected. 

Alex gave a satisfied nod, and resumed getting ready for his departure to work for the afternoon. 

Unknown to Alex, a sleek, crested robot was perched on a nearby rooftop, gazing at the human with a steady stare, like a vulture watching its heat - parched prey take its last gasp. Bass observed the encounter between the young man and his son, while, in his mind's eye, he recalled the conversation he and ol' Doc Wily had had earlier that day.... 

"Bass, we have a slight problem with our 'reploid'. 

Bass' heart sunk clear down into his armoured boots at the thought that something might be wrong with the plans he had worked so hard to obtain. "What's up, Doc?" 

"It's complicated, but I'll give you the gist of it while you think up some more hilarious jokes. A reploid has emotions and thoughts. According to the plans I have, the parts needed to give a reploid those gifts are complicated and extremely hard to find. I certainly don't have them in this lab." 

Frustration welled up in Bass. He leaned against the wall beside him and drummed out a little beat on the hard plaster with his fingers. "Well, that IS quite a pickle. If you want me to, I could ransack Light's lab again and try to rip off the parts. After all, if he's building a reploid, and those plans were his, I'm sure he has the accessories need." 

Wily shook his head firmly. "No Bass, you said that Rock returned to the lab just as you were leaving. I don't doubt that he'll still be there, and the last thing that I need at this point is to lose you. Besides, I have an alternate plan, and you'll play a crucial part in it." 

Bass' interest flared up again. "What's the plan?" 

Wily hesitated for a second. "I could probably turn a human into a reploid." 

The quizzical expression glued to Bass' face requested more info. 

"If I turned a human into a reploid," Wily explained, "It would still have the emotions of a human and the strength of a robot, like any reploid. It wouldn't be totally mechanical like Light's reploid, but it would be my own special breed." 

For the first time since he started service to Wily, Bass looked doubtful of his master. "You really think you can change a human into a reploid without killing the fellow?" 

Wily looked grim. "I may as well try. Creating my own breed of reploid would certainly be interesting. It would be a reploid that gets its emotions not from mechanics, but from a real human mind. If we DID carry this out, we would transform the human's body into titanium, but leave its mind intact, but it would still be more machine than man. It would be dangerous and painful for the human, but...golly gosh darn it, it would be a challenge! And I'm up for a challenge!" 

"'More machine than man...'" Bass echoed. "Cool! Just like Darth Vader!" 

"More or less." Wily said to shut him up. "Now Bass, I want you to go out and nab a human. Make it a strong one...the metamorphosis from man to machine will be physically taxing on the human, and we want it to survive. When you do your kidnapping, stick to an area with low traffic. We don't want to attract more attention than needed." 

Flustered with the thrill of being permitted to hunt, Bass excitedly prepared to teleport, but Wily stopped him. 

"Wait, Bass..." He said. "It's not bloody likely that the human is just going to go with you! Take a dart gun. If the human gives you any sort of a struggle, just shoot him with this, and I guarantee that it'll settle down in a real hurry." Wily held out a small vial of a strange, clear liquid in his gnarled hand. 

Bass studied the liquid with interest. "What is this stuff?" 

"One of my newer inventions. I call it 'Nullifier..'" 

Bass' thoughts came crashing back into the present as he watched the young man below him separate with his son. The bot's eyes glittered hellishly as his powerful mind devised a somewhat diabolical plan. Like a sleek black adder, Bass waited silently above, poised to make his move. He had chosen his victim. 

Alex grumbled as he started on the path to his work. It was a fairly nice day, and work wasn't far, but the wind was behind him and it whipped Alex's ponytail over his shoulder as carelessly as a cat's paw torments a mouse. Alex flipped his ponytail back over his shoulder for the twentieth time. "Stay there, damn you." He muttered. As much as Alex took pride in his tremendously long hair, it was beginning to become quite a pain. Some idiots began to comment on his looking like a girl. Perhaps he would cut off the ponytail this weekend...or perhaps not...then again, he had better things to worry about than hair problems...like when the hell he was going to be able to afford a car!? 

A sudden, shrill scream from behind tore clean through Alex's mental moping. Alex recognized the owner of the cry right away: 

"Paul!" 

Alex spun around so quickly that his ponytail lashed him in the shoulder. What he saw made his stomach squirm violently. 

There was his son, who had obviously been on his way back to the house, in the fierce clutches of a robot that was clad in ebony armour with gold trimmings. Paul was crying, trying to lunge towards his father, but the robot held him fast by one arm. What really frightened Alex, though, was the fact that the black demon had a strange looking gun pressed against the back of Paul's shaking head. Alex's throat went totally dry. Numbly, he followed his protective instinct and started back to his captive boy. Of course, he was not armed, but that didn't matter to him; he did not trust robots. They were becoming far too human, and there was no telling what THIS particular fellow wanted. 

A sharklike grin rapidly spread across the robot's face as he watched Alex lurch dumbly towards him. "Hold it, human!" He snarled. "Don't come any further, or you'll see the blood of your pathetic offspring paint the sidewalk." 

Alex's bloodshot eyes leapt back up to the gun pressed against his sobbing son's head. He slowed down to a complete stop. 

"Attaboy!" The robot cheered as if he were praising a dog. "Don't make any noise either. We want to be as quiet as possible." 

"What the hell do you want? Let him go NOW!" 

Despite the forbidding tone in Alex's voice, the black robot respond airily. "I don't want to hurt the boy, and I won't on one condition. I want you to come with me for a bit." 

Alex's stomach wall became coated with ice and his feet were cemented in place. He was fairly certain that following this devil would mean death in one form or another. "May I ask what for?" 

The robot's face lost its expressions of assurance and cunning. It just became one gigantic frown. "Don't give me any hassles! Remember who I've got!" At these words, the robot jostled Paul, who was silent but trembling. The cold, ominous black steel of the gun that was pressed hard against his head was not lowered for a second. Alex would have to go with the robot for the sake of his boy. What options did he have? None. Nada. Zippidy - do - dah. Zero. 

"I'll go," Alex grunted. "just leave him alone." 

The robot nodded slightly. "Smart move." He threw the shocked bait away from him. Paul stumbled for a few steps then fell on a neighbour's lawn. Alex saw his chance. He rushed the robot, intending to tackle it. Alex was pretty sure that he could overpower this freak with the element of surprise. After all, this robot was smaller than him, but few people were above Alex's bestial height of 6"5. But even while Alex charged at the robot, panic overwhelmed him; he could tell by the robot's amused expression that it had been totally prepared for this unruly behaviour. Wordlessly, the grinning bot raised the gun and fired it in one fluid motion. A small, streamlined dart leapt from the short muzzle of the gun. Neatly, it sailed at Alex and stuck fast in the human's shoulder, stopping him in mid - charge. Crying out, Alex wheeled around while he pulled the poisonous object out of his shoulder, but it was too late. He began to feel a warm tingling at the base of his spine. The strange sensation slowly crawled up his back and spread to his limbs. in place of his fear and rage, Alex felt a sort of sleepy calmness creep over him. He found that his shaking legs could no longer support him as he wilted to the ground like a dead flower. All the frightening images of his son being held hostage by the black demon fled his mind as he lost consciousness. 

Bass inwardly grinned as he watched the big human before him sink to the ground, unconscious. So THAT's what Nullifier did! Pretty handy stuff. Bass slung the human's limp body over his shoulder. The human was so tall and Bass was so short that the humans' hands dangled and actually touched the ground. Regardless of this comical sight, Bass gave a fierce glance up and down the street. To his relief, the street remained deserted. The only spectator present was the human's son, who silently watched in disbelief as his father - the strongest and bravest man in the world - was slung over some strange robot's shoulders like a sack of grain. Bass tried to harden his heart against the pitiful sight. Maybe he shouldn't have chosen a family man. 

"Sorry kid." He mumbled awkwardly, trying to shake the unfamiliar feeling of guilt that gripped him. A black beam shot down from the sky. It swept up Bass, rapidly taking him back to the lab. 

"Hey, Castor!!" 

"Yeah?" 

"Watch what happens when I stick my tongue in this electrical socket!" 

"No Pollux, I really don't think you should --" 

There was a sharp, crackling sound like bacon frying. With a strangled yelp, Pollux was thrown a good four feet back from the angry socket. As he lay there, with his name tag now charred and smoking, the faint, acrid smell of ozone began to fill the lab. The robots who had been present to watch Pollux's flight now cheered as if the Gemini Man had done something clever. 

"All right Pollux, you da man!" Someone laughed. 

Bass growled faintly as he watched these childish ongoings. Anyone who ever said that robots were supposed to have intelligence a hundredfold of humans would have gotten a real shock if they had been present at that moment. 

Bass felt something paw at his leg. He looked down to see Gospel. The robodog gazed up at his god while wagging his stubby tail. He had not gone with Bass to nab the human, and Gospel did not like to be separated from his master for even a second. 

Bass smiled as he kneeled to pet the dog. "Hey Gospel. You missed me, huh? Let me show you something." 

Bass led his companion to the table situated in the middle of the lab. The creature lying there was quite a sight: It appeared to be a human, but it was under such a tangled mass of multicoloured wires that it was almost impossible to tell for sure. The human was indeed Alex undergoing the metamorphosis from a human to a reploid. The Doc and many of the robots had been working for days and nights on this project. So far, they were succeeding. All the wires attached to Alex were needed to keep his biological systems running while vital organs were altered or replaced. It was a very tricky process, and they had come close to losing the victim more than once. But for now, the human's breathing under the oxygen mask was regular. Bass' worst fear was that the human would suddenly awaken and begin to panic; but Alex had remained in a deep swamp of hibernation since Bass had shot him with the Nullifier. 

The only other robot present at the table was Snake Man. Monty the python still swarmed over his shoulders. The reptilian bot was carefully observing the monitors hooked up to Alex, watching for any sudden and drastic change in the human's vital signs. Bass and Gospel approached him. 

"Hey, Snakester. How's my baby brother doing?" Bass motioned towards Alex. 

"So far he's fine. You said that his name was Alex?" 

"Yep." 

"How do you know that?" 

Bass grinned a little sheepishly. "We found his wallet amoung his things. It contained ID that told us everything we need to know about him. Age, date of birth, blood type, and so forth." 

"So we know his name." Snake muttered. "But does he have a given name? I mean, what's he gonna be called when he turns into a robot...uh, I mean a reploid?" Snake corrected himself. 

Bass grinned wryly. "The Doc and I already picked out a name. Did he ever tell you the name of his alligator? The one that ate his hamster, X?" 

"Nope." 

"Well, look at the monitor up there." Bass motioned to a radiant screen hanging close to Snake. "That'll tell ya the answer to your question." 

Snake Man shuffled around to read the information behind him. 

    

HUMAN NAME: Alex Wells     

SEX: Male     

    

D.O.B: 7/20/80     

    

P.O.B: Toronto, Canada          

GIVEN / REPLOID NAME: Zero 

Chapter 5: Crimson Birth

Bewildered, Bass stood stiffly in the middle of Wily's lab. The reploid project was coming to a close, and final instructions and questions flew thickly through the air. 

"Robotic heart is functioning at 100%, and circulatory fluids are being distributed as needed." 

"Titanium X armour has been forged and donned." 

"What colours were chosen for the armour?" 

"Red and grey are the primary colours of the protective gear. It also sports gold trimmings." 

"Those colours suck." 

"Hey listen me bucko, if you're so hot, why don't you haul butt down to Robot Depot and pick out the colours yourself?" 

"Don't tempt me." 

"Okay! The arm cannon is in place. It should correspond with the reploid's battle programs. 

"Bass, Shadow Man just said that my mother was a tuna can. Do somethiiiiing!" 

In response to this desperate plea from his hassled underling, Bass merely cracked his knuckles. The clamour that surrounded him was both terrible and glorious. Terrible in the sense that it was annoying, but glorious in the sense that, as every second flew past, Alex grew closer and closer to becoming a reploid. Bass walked over to the construction table to see how his baby brother was coming along. Fire Man was there, dully gawking at the reploid before him. To the pyro, it was obviously little more than a heap of metal and wires, while to Bass, it was life beyond his own , and for that reason the crimson figure before him was more precious to him than anything else in the world. 

"Amazing, isn't he?" Bass whispered in an awed voice as he stood beside Fire Man. His eyes were alight with admiration. 

Fire Man jumped at the sudden sound of Bass' voice. He mumbled his agreement as he gazed at the stoic face of the reploid beneath him. "Yeah, he's okay, I guess." Fire Man paused. "Uh..can I like, set him on fire or somethin'?" 

Bass' jaw went slack. "No! Haven't you any idea what's lying here before us? A reploid! A member of the perfect species! Evolution has crawled from single - celled organisms in a prehistoric soup to THIS!!" Here Bass jabbed a finger in the direction of the sleeping reploid. "It's only fitting that the 'perfect race' should be a member of the robotic family!" 

Fire Man's head cocked to one side as he listened with unwavering interest to his superiors ranting. Then, he responded to Bass with a simple answer that matched his simple mind: 

"I like soup." 

Bass beat Fire Man severely before he observed the phenotype of his brother. 

Alex did not even resemble a human now. He was clad in stunning, streamlined crimson - and - platinum armour. Large speed boots were bolted firmly to his legs. These would allow the reploid to dash at high speeds with the aid of rocket boosters. On the reploid's right hand was a top of the line arm cannon that, when charged, would emit a huge blast of white energy that would entwine around a victim like great serpents of power, and fry the unfortunate individual. A crested helm rested on the reploid's head. Only one thing remained from Alex's human days: his long ponytail, which hung over the side of the table like a golden relic of the past. The reploid still slept peacefully in the untroubled world of his subconscious. Bass regarded the creation with a strange feeling of protective love. The creature would be powerful, but vulnerable. It would be up to Bass to teach the newborn how to use the skills it possessed. This thought suddenly spawned a concern in Bass' mind. 

"Anyone seen the Doc? I want to ask him a few questions." 

As if on cue, the massive doors to the lab yawned open and Wily staggered through. He looked like a demon from the ninth ring of hell. He had not slept for days, and his hair stuck out of his head like fine wisps of cloud. A wry, eager smile was propped on his wrinkled face, and ambition burned fiercely in his eyes. Bass involuntarily recoiled at the crazy sight. 

"You called, Bass?" 

"Uhm...yeah. I have a question. Two, actually. First of all, when the reploid wakes up, will he have any memory of his past life as a human? And secondly, how do we get this guy to hate humans and become the destructive, violent little beastie that we want him to be? I mean, humans are generally violent, but I don't think most of them kill each other for the sake of a laugh." 

Wily's eyes looked distant. "I'm two steps ahead of you, Bass. I've thought ahead about those problems." 

"Really?" Bass said, a trifle bitterly. 

"Yes. I was thinking...a reploid is supposed to have a mind that is very similar to a human's, right?" 

"So far as I know." 

"I want to test that theory. A human can be brainwashed, right? So, if a reploid's thought process is almost exactly the same...could a reploid be brainwashed to change its views on something? I want to try this on Alex. We could get him to hate humans and to forget his past." 

Bass' head was bowed in thought. "You know what, Doc? That's crazy enough to work! It would be the perfect opportunity to test out how 'humanlike' a reploid's mind really is." 

"Brilliant idea, isn't it. It's like killing two birds with one stone. We should start the brainwashing now, and continue it when the reploid wakes up, which should be very soon. It will be difficult, and it will take time. Now, one question remains: who's going to do the mind - altering?" 

Bass grinned wickedly. "You leave that to me." 

Night fell rapidly and silently, and the construction lab emptied in a hurry. Once the last bot had left the large room, the doors swept open again and Bass strode through like an ebony god. His devilish eyes fell on his sleeping brother laid out on the table. Besides the monotone bleep of the machines monitoring the reploid's lifesigns, the lab was dead silent. Bass approached the table slowly and circled it once like a tiger shark preparing to attack a helpless boat. Suddenly, Bass dove towards the reploid's stationary head and whispered to it demonic stories of destruction, violence and blood. 

The twisted words penetrated the reploid's mind and seeped into his subconscious like a deadly poison. His dreams shifted to those of violence and greed. He could see himself on the streets of some city that his subconscious had dreamed up, as Spartan - cloak coloured figure. He destroyed and murdered any human unfortunate enough to cross his path. With every life he took, his hatred for humans blossomed. Fond memories of his wife, child and former life dissolved as he preformed these acts. He could feel the peoples' fear: to them, he was the wind of death. A deep throated, devilish chuckle sounded from above him. The reploid stopped in his tracks and glanced upwards. There, blocking out most of the blood - hued sky was a cat - eyed, shapeless shadow that was blacker than a starless night. It regarded the reploid and its laugh boomed again. 

"Well done! Well done! See the fear that surrounds you and smell the blood that is puddled at your feet. Isn't it wonderful? Do not regret the killing of all these humans: They're dirty creatures that...uh...carry all sorts of diseases and such. But you are a reploid! A member of the greatest species on earth! You were given life to conquer and rule over those big monkeys. Do you understand? Come, awaken, and take your place in the REAL circle of life!" 

A huge, black hand groped out of the void above, snatched up the reploid and yanked him from the depths of his subconscious like a fish on a line. The reploid tried to cry out but his breath caught in his throat as he was pulled into a crashing multitude of colours and sounds. All at once, his body and mind became one, and his eyelids jerked open. The first thing the reploid's maiden eyes focused on was a black figure standing above him with its mouth wide open in astonishment. Then, the mouth snapped shut and formed the first words that the reploid would ever hear: 

"Zero." 

Chapter 6: Jurassic Park is Frightening in the Dark...

Night silently swallowed up Skull Castle, and Wily grudgingly decided that he had better tidy up a bit around the fortress before turning in for the night. He was in the process of discarding a half - eaten box of stale donuts just as Bass burst into the room, his face wreathed in smiles. Behind the bot, a red and silver figure stumbled awkwardly, unsure of its steps. Bass skidded to a stop, spread out his arms and began to talk like a madman. "Doc! The reploid woke up! Isn't this amazing? Doc? Doc! Oh man, he fainted. I hate it when he does that. I'd better get some water...no, wait, he's coming to." Bass extended a hand to help the old scientist back on his feet. 

"Buh - Bass...the reploid...it's awake?" 

"Appears so." 

"Holy Mother Takhisis! I don't believe it!" Wily scrambled back to his feet with the aid of Bass. He regarded his creation with narrowed eyes. "Why won't it speak? And why did it move so clumsily when you busted in?" 

Bass suddenly seemed proud of the fact that HE would actually be able to explain something to WILY for once. "I think that a newly - activated reploid is a lot like a human infant. It has to get used to its new body, and learn about the skills it possesses. This fellow's progressing rapidly," - Here Bass jabbed a finger at Zero - "he's already walking. And he's not talking, because he's too busy thinking." 

Wily's worn heart raced. Thinking? Could that be true? Sure enough, when he looked at Zero, the reploid was squinting at a contraption resting on a small table, as if he were thinking about what use that object might have. Wily slowly turned back around to Bass. 

"Thinking?" 

Bass nodded as a twisted grin worked its way to his face. "THINK - ING! And who knows what else he can do?" 

Wily clutched his chest. "Okay, Wily!" He coached himself calmly. "No time for a heart attack now! We have a lot of work to do." He steadied himself. "Zero!" He barked sharply. 

The reploid suddenly snapped out of his trance and whipped around to face Wily. "Sir?" 

"Do you know who I am?" 

"Yessir. You're the one who gave me life, or so my brother Bass told me. I plan to serve you in any way I can." The reploid punctuated the sentence by performing a little bow. Something else seemed to cross Zero's mind as he grimaced and said, "I plan to serve you even though you're a human. But since you created me, my loyalty is with you." 

Wily hardly dared to hope. "Is something wrong with humans?" 

"Well...yes. Shortly before I was pulled into birth, some sort of black entity appeared to me in my dreams and explained that all humans are evil, and need to be destroyed." Zero raised his arm cannon above his head for a dramatic effect. "I plan to do just that." 

Wily's twisted grin seemed to reach from one end of the country to the other. "Well, isn't this a happy coincidence? That's the plan I had in mind for you! But don't destroy ANYTHING yet. Nothing. There's a time and a place for that, y'hear? Here's what my immediate plans for you consist of: You will remain awake for four months. During this time, Bass will teach you what kind of skills you posses." Wily helpfully pointed Zero in Bass' direction, who waved at the reploid with unworldly enthusiasm. "After those four months, you will be sealed in a capsule where you will become dormant for at least 30 years. When you wake up in the future, nestle yourself in society, then kill all you want once you're comfortable. Did you get that? Do you want me to write it down?" 

The reploid's response was a flabbergasted stare. Another reflection of the emotions he was feeling. "Why does my future appear to be so odd?" 

"I have my reasons. Now, listen: I hope your weapons work okay." Wily picked up Zero's right hand, the one containing the arm cannon. "This is a pretty damn good shooter, if I say so myself. Are you able to change between your cannon and your hand with ease?" 

Sure enough, Zero switched between his hand and his weapon with a fury that would have shamed Inspector Gadget. He felt a strong surge of pleasant energy flow through him as he did this, which would have been the human equivalent of a testosterone - rush. The surge melted away his bewildered feelings. 

"Very good, very good." Wily cheered on the crimson reploid. "I hope your emotions work as effectively, too. Let's test." Wily's eye fell on Bass, who was daydreaming while staring at the ceiling, obviously entranced by the thought of what Zero could do to the future world. Wily snuck up behind the black robot and pushed him with youthful energy. Bass screamed as he toppled over like a stack of cans, and landed on the lab floor with a resounding crash. Zero began to laugh hysterically. Humour. Wily then swung a fist into the reploid's jaw. Zero's grin immediately flipped over and became a grimace of anger. He remembered just in time not to retort against his master. Anger. 

"Well Bass, what do you think?" Wily questioned of the black bot, who was collecting himself from the fall. "His weapons are fine, and his emotions are fully functional." Bass' pride was a bit hurt after having the experience of being the butt end of one of Wily's jokes. Nevertheless, he responded. "I think he's ready, Doc. It's just a matter of keeping him convinced that humans are evil, and letting him know what powers he possesses. I'll take over from here on. You've done well." 

Wily sighed deeply as he turned around. "We've done it. We have a reploid. The future is going to have some serious problems, as will Light's reploid. But that's not my concern. My work is done. I can rest...now." 

And so, time passed as it had a funny habit of doing. Spring seamlessly melted into summer and Proto, Roll and Mega could be found on the steps of Light's lab. They'd just been in the process of a rousing game of indoor hide 'n seek, when Proto had accidentally knocked over a few fragile articles while trying to tag Mega 'out'. Light went slightly berserk, and threatened to hang Proto from the rafters by his scarf if he didn't go out to get some 'fresh air'. Proto was upset that such a good game had to be broken up, and when he got outside, he vented his anger by throwing stones at various things. He was still doing this when Roll brought up an interesting question beside him. "We haven't had any trouble from Wily in the longest time. I wonder what he's up to." Proto's heart lurched. The very same question had been ripping around in his mind for ages. However, he had recently pushed it to the back of his mind; it would be a shame to spoil such nice weather by thinking of the evil scientist. 

Mega piped up. "I don't know what he's up to. Maybe he's slowing down because he's old. I'm not going to bother him if he doesn't bother me first...it would be like throwing rocks at a bee's nest." 

Proto grinned wickedly as he chucked another rock into the empty air. "I've heard rumours about why Wily has been so silent." 

"So have I," Roll chimed in. "some of them are pretty wild." 

"I heard he was abducted by a hoard of tentacled aliens." 

"I heard that he was killed by the Mafia." 

"I heard that he ran away to join the circus." 

"I heard that he was ground up and served as hamburgers at McDonalds." 

"I heard that he quit the crime game and became a male prostitute." 

Roll gave her brother a sidelong glance. "Somehow I doubt that." 

Proto shrugged off Roll's criticism. "Believe what you will, but I think we all agree on this: I don't like this silence. I don't like it at all. Wily could be up to something BIG, providing that none of those wonderful rumours are true. I think I'll scout around the city for a bit and see what's up." 

Now, fast forward a bit and cue in on Wilyland's famous Robosaur Park, headed by the infamous Slash Man. It was a huge tourist attraction, even if the dinosaurs within were only robotic. The park itself was large and roomy, a perfect dwelling place for the mechanical T - Rex, Stegosaurs, and Velociraptor pack that resided there. Above the park entrance there hung a crude, hand - painted sign that screamed 'Welcome to Robosaur Park!'. Beside the gargantuan wooden gates of the entrance there was a weathered, smaller sign that welcomed visitors to the park, and listed off several rules to make their stay more enjoyable. Slash Man himself had constructed the sign, and he was exceedingly proud of it: 

    1. Do not feed the animals     2. Do not make eye contact with the animals     3. Do not taunt the animals     4. Do not expose pregnant women to the animals     5. Do not sing and dance in front of the animals     6. Do not cross - dress in front of the animals     7. Do not quote Shakespeare in front of the animals     8. Do not get into the cages with the animals     9. Do not toss annoying siblings and/or offspring into the velociraptor pit     10. Do not try to ride the animals          HAVE YOURSELF A T - REX - RIFFIC DAY! 

Slash himself was parked up in a tower that loomed high above the park, where he could watch the ongoings below him with ease. The dinosaurs were his children, and he watched over them with his life. Today, the wild, spiky orange and grey clawed bot regarded the park drowsily while laying on his rope hammock. There were few spectators to marvel at the wonders of the place that day. Slash secretly didn't like to see the park so empty: he enjoyed having people around to gawk at his dinosaurs, and it was nice to have human company once in a while. Affected by the intense heat of the day, Slash began to drift into a light sleep. He was violently brought back to his senses when someone suddenly swung his hammock back and forth with lust. Slash was spilled to the ground with a hollow clang. Irritated, he glanced upwards to see Bass towering above him. His irritation was immediately replaced by icy terror. 

"B...Bass! What's wrong?" 

"Have you checked your e - mail lately, Slashy?!" Bass snarled viciously. 

Slash was forced to admit that he hadn't. Bass picked up Slash by his scruffy neck and sat him down hard in the chair in front of his computer. "I recommend you check your mail NOW." Bass said in a monotone voice that still managed to be threatening. 

Forcing himself to stay calm, Slash began to boot up his computer when his massive claws got in the way. With a mild curse, the orange robot sheathed the deadly weapons and guided his mouse to the email icon on his monitor, as Bass had clearly instructed. Sure enough, Slash had one email message for himself from Elecman, the electrifying robot (bad pun again!) who powered the nuclear power plant on the edge of the city. Bass still hovered over Slash, his eyes boring invisible holes in his back. Slash found it difficult to retain his faux mask of calmness as he read the email: 

    

TO: Slash Man      

FROM: Elecman      

SUBJECT: Temporary Power Plant shut down..URGENT MAIL          

Hey, Slashster!! 

Some repairs in the power plant need to be made. As a result, I'm going to have to shut off the power supply to your park for a while. This means that there will be NO electric current running through the fences that outline your place. If you do not want your dinosaurs to escape and wreak havoc on the city, I strongly suggest that you turn on the emergency power generator in the park. I'll let you know as soon as the electricity is back on again. 

Best Regards: 

Elecman 

Slash Man's insides quaked. No wonder the park had been so silent: all the dinosaurs had probably torn down the dormant fence and gone off for a walk in the city! 

Bass appeared to be reading Slash's thoughts. "That's right, you idiot! There's no electric current running through your lovely fences, and because you were too damn lazy to read your mail once in a freakin' while, you missed Elecman's warning, and you didn't have a chance to turn on your independent emergency power supply! And you know what I saw on the way here?" Bass snatched up Slash by the collar of his armour and forced him to look straight into his flaming eyes. "TORN - DOWN - FENCES!! Your dinosaurs are having a field day out there! People are going to think that Wily's attacking, when he most certainly is not. If we - nay, if YOU - don't get those miserable reptiles back into the park, Light will deploy Mega - freakin' - Man to go after Wily. Then complications that we REALLY don't need will arise. Wily has far too much on his plate right now to worry about dealing with the Blue guy. Do you understand?" Bass began to shake Slash Man to get his point across and to emphasize each word. "Because - of - your - freakin' - carelessness - we've - got - ourselves - a - major - freakin' - pain - in - the - butt! - if - you - don't - get - out - there - NOW - and - get - those - freakin' - fancy - animals - back - in - this - freakin' - fancy - zoo, - I'll - personally - rearrange - your - freakin' - FACE! Now - get - going - , you - freakin' - FREAK!!" Bass dropped the nauseous Slash to the ground. Wordlessly, Slash scrambled out the door of his tower like a frightened puppy to carry out what Bass had ordered. 

Chapter 7: 101 Dino - mations

Like a maroon and silver mouse, Protoman impatiently scurried and jumped between and around the towering building tops that dotted the city. He was looking for something...ANYTHING...that would explain the reason for Wily's uncanny silence. It was a wee bit irritating: he had turned over every rock searching for an explanation, but had come up empty handed. Perched high above the main street of the city, unseen to eyes, Proto gave the passing sea of traffic and general hubabaloo below one last careful scan with visored eyes. He was about ready to call it quits. 

"Let's see here." he thought idly. "There's two disgruntled motorists down there shouting murderous threats to each other....not like that's anything new...oh, there's a colourful band of vandals spraypainting wonderful words from the English language on that skyscraper wall. Maybe I should go and stop...naw, nuts to that. There's some kids down there playing ball...there's a bot cleaning up some rubbish from the streets...there's a young human couple who are...uh...okay, that's none of my business. I don't think they want an audience. There's a pack of raptors attacking a bus filled with screaming passengers...there's...hey, waitaminute!" 

Proto's alarmed glance swept back over to the bus that had occupied his last thought. Making sure that no one was occupying the rooftop with him, he lifted his trademark visor up a bit to get a more detailed look. Because his eyes were so used to seeing in blue and black, the lights and colours of the outside environment blinded him slightly. Ignoring the protest from his optics, Proto leaned over to get a better look at the dormant bus. 

Sure enough, a medium sized pack of robotic reptiles was circling the vehicle, much to the displeasure of the panicked people inside. The raptors came in a dazzling variety of colours, markings, and sizes, very much like a box of assorted cookies. The heat and light of the midsummer sun reflected on their pseudo - scales, causing a near - blinding glare. 

"Well now. THERE'S something you don't see every day. Unless I miss my guess, those little fellows are from the Wilyland Robosaur Park. But they should be confined to the park. Who let them out like an idiot?" The rapotrs had tired of the 'circle - around - the - bus - and - scare - the - passengers - to - death' game that they had been playing, so they began to start CHARGING into the vehicle. Some of the robotic reptiles pushed their heads against the bus, rocking it back and forth like a pack of rioters. Proto was about to leap down from his post to help the occupants of the bus when another question crossed his mind. "Are there any more of these dinosaurs?" 

As if on cue, an earth - shattering roar sounded from behind the visored bot. Terrified, Proto whipped around and gawked in disbelief at what he saw. A mechanical T - Rex was lumbering around the streets about 10 blocks away from him. Despite its distance, Proto got an excellent view of the behemoth swaggering from side to side as it destroyed as it pleased. Proto valiantly decided that NOW was a good time to help some of the panicked citizens scattering below him. 

"I'm pretty sure that this is the work of good 'ol Doc W." He muttered grimly. "No wonder he was so silent. He was preparing to...release killer robotic dinosaurs to terrorise the people in the city." Proto paused. "What a stupid thing to do! Why not just come barrelling down the street in a two - storey tank? It would be easier. I guess humans do dumb things as they get older. I remember when Light's mother was still alive and used to reside in the Old Folks Home, she used to do nothing but knit, even though no one needed any clothes of any kind." Proto fondly touched the scarf that encircled his neck like a friendly python. "Well, she was a good woman. Thanks to her crazy obsession, my neck is always warm. Now, time to play hero!" 

Across the city, the famous scientist Dr. Cossack hummed contentedly, even though he was swamped with work. It was such a nice day. Nothing was going to spoil his mood! The red - haired man glanced idly out of the seventh - story window that enclosed his office. He had always loved to look at the city spread in front of him. Therefore, it is understandable why blanched a bit when he saw a giant dinosaur taking up most of his beloved view. 

The giant reptile locked its luminant, yellow eyes with the scientist's terrified ones. Man and beast stared at each other for a full minute, neither one moving. Finally, the leviathan lost interest in playing a staring game with a red - haired Russian scientist, and bellowed off to search elsewhere for dinner. When the animal was gone, Cossack removed a fine hankerchief and a small card from one of his many lab coat pockets. He mopped his sweaty forehead with the hanky. Then, shakily, he called: 

"Kalinka! Kaliiiiinka! Come here, will you?" 

Kalinka, Cossack's daughter, entered. She was a young thing, hardly over ten years old. She was as inquisive as any girl her age could expect to be, but to her life was to be taken seriously. "You called?" 

"Yes. I don't mean to worry you, but your daddy has been...seeing things. Yesterday, a carnivorous laptop computer chomped on my ankle, and the day before that the flowers were talking to me. Today, I had a staring contest with a dinosaur. If daddy starts to do something rash one day, like say, oh, throwing bricks at pedestrians on the street below, call this number. I pray you won't have to call it; hopefully, I've just been working too hard." Cossack handed his worried daughter the card that he had extracted from his lab coat earlier. Kalinka studied it with concerned interest. 

"Hey dad...what's a 'mental institution'? 

"I have a very bad feeling that you're going end up visiting me there soon enough, dear." 

"Get back! Back! Away from the bus, I say!" 

The leader of the velociraptor pack whipped around to see what individual dared challenged him. Finding nothing more interesting than a maroon robot waving his arms at him like an idiot, the robotic reptile returned to stalking the bus with his cohorts. 

"No! Bad dinosaur! I told you to stop! No soup for you!" 

Proto was about to learn a valuable lesson: velociraptors, robotic or not, didn't care for discipline. The pack leader, a towering red - and - beige beast, whipped around again with unearthly speed and raked its huge foretalons in the air in front of Proto, missing the stunned bot by hardly half an inch. Proto's heart lurched as he watched certain death pass him by a hair's length. Before he could recover from the shock, he felt something tighten around his neck like a noose. He managed to crane his neck around just enough to see that the raptor had gripped his precious scarf in its deadly jaws and was pulling at it with tremendous strength. 

Needless to say, Proto began to feel a slight need for air about 30 seconds after the raptor had tightened the scarf around his windpipe like a hangman. Proto tried one desperate strategy: he pulled, trying to beat the dino in a contest of brawn. In response to Proto's sudden struggle, the raptor emitted a pleased squeak, and pulled back even harder. Tug of War. Proto became enraged: the damnable lizard thought it was a game!! The rest of the raptor pack had lost interest in the destruction of the bus and scattered here and there to cause other mischief. The doors of the bus slid open with a hiss of dragon's breath, and the terrified captives of the raptors surged out of them. 

Proto had one last option: He had to get out of his scarf, or die in it. With an expression of utter defeat and regret, he managed to slip out of the ever - tightening noose, then ran. He wanted to blast the raptor to retrieve his trademark scrap of clothing, but then he knew that the rest of the pack would come to the leader's aid. Then there would be big trouble. 

The raptor fell back a bit when the other end of the 'rope' went slack. Pleased that it had won the game, it began to shread up the scarf. The creature found out quickly that the scarf wasn't edible: so, leaving the yellow memento on the deserted street, it sprinted off to find something more tasty than wool. 

Slash Man ran like a man possessed. He leaped over rooftops on all fours, an uncanny skill that only a jungle animal should have had. His breath surged in and out of his systems rythymatically. Beneath the rasping, he could hear Bass' frightful words echoing in his head: "if you don't get those freakin' fancy animals back in this freakin' fancy zoo, I'll personally rearrange your freakin' FACE!" Slash man paused in his mad sprint and sat upright like a chipmunk. He closed his eyes and listened for an audio clue as to where his children might be. Some twenty blocks away, Slash heard a earth - trembling roar. The T Rex! Slash quivered with excitement. 

"Hold on, Sarah! Daddy's coming!" 

Slash lunged back into action. His feet barely touched the ground as he sailed over rooftops and jumped over the gaps that yawned between the structures. Very soon indeed, he saw Sarah. The behemoth had obviously just snacked on something (or someone) and was preparing to swoop down on a little child who stood dumbstruck before the beast. Just in time, however, Slash landed on his pet's head with a hardy metallic thump. Sarah instantly reared her giant head, and expressed her displeasure with a bellow. Slash talked calmly to the T Rex: 

"It's okay, Sarah...it's me. Now be a good dinosaur, and calm down." 

Sarah recognised this soothing voice, and immediately carried out Slash's request, for she loved him. When Sarah had cooled down enough, Slash turned his attention to the frozen child before him. 

"Listen kid, I'm sorry if Sarah scared you out of a year's growth. Here..." Slash man dug into his pockets. "Three free passes to my park! Bring the kids! Oh wait..you ARE a kid. Nevermind." The passes fluttered down from Slash's clawed hand and came to rest on the sidewalk before the kid. The child found his voice. He held up a navy blue leash that was frayed at the very end, and stained with minute drops of blood. "Your dinosaur ate my dog!" 

Slash man shrugged. "Sorry, kid. They can't all be Barneys." 

Proto swore bitterly as he watched a large pack of chicken - sized compies leap and shriek as they closed in on him. Battling robotic dinosaurs was not something one should do single - handedly. One of the tiny but deadly lizards lunged at Proto with its maw open, sharp teeth on display. Proto kicked the scavenger square in its chest. It tumbled backwards like a scaly ball. The rest of the pack surged forward, hissing, claws unsheathed. 

"This is it." Proto thought glumly. "I'm dead. It's all over. Killed by a bunch of chicken - sized, robotic dinosaurs. Of all the ways to go!!" 

The earth suddenly trembled, and a cheerful voice wafted above the rumbling sound: 

"Hullloooooooo!" 

Proto couldn't believe his eyes. He watched as the pedestrians (the few that were left on the dino - ravaged streets) flung themselves this way and that to get out of the way of Slash Man, who was perched happily on the head of a giant T Rex. The compies lost all interest in Proto, and surged around Slash and Sarah, squeaking and jumping like children around their father who had just returned from work. Proto hailed the orange - maned robot. 

"Hey, Ace Ventura! We usually don't let two - ton pets wander the streets, you know!" His visor flashed in annoyance. "I know." Slash Man called down. "I'm sorry. These fellows escaped from my park when Elecman shut off...oh, never mind...it's a long story." 

Proto nodded in understanding. "Want me to help you take these critters back to the park?" 

Proto could see Slash Man's distant face light up. "Sure! That'd be great of you. Climb aboard on Sarah." At a word from her god, Sarah offered Protoman her tail to help the bot scale up her back. Proto hesitantly took the Rex's generous offer, and scurried up to Sarah's head and seated himself behind Slash. He looked down from a dizzying height. He could see the compies swarming around Sarah's gargantuan hind paws. Slash grinned as he saw Proto blanch in fear from the height of the drop. "Just hang on tight! Away we go!" Sarah started forward. It was a jerky ride, like riding a ship in a storm. The compies marched in military fashion far below. The whole thing looked like a Jurassic parade. Proto hung on for dear life, but Slash looked as comfortable as a man in an armchair. Proto cursed himself as dull company: He decided to start up a conversation with Slash. 

"So...all these dinos yours?" 

Slash nodded with pride. "Yep. They're my children. I've named them all." 

Proto was impressed. "Every single one?" 

"Yes. This here's Sarah." Slash patted the T Rex's massive head. Sarah purred in response. "As for those compies down there..." Slash jabbed a finger towards the green swarm below. "Well, there's Dennis...Brad...Mavis...Brad..." 

Chapter 8:  
Sweet Intoxications

It's narrator hour! Whee! Hey, I'm sitting here telling this story, I gave life to the characters that you love so much (well, except for those that are actually featured in the games. I had to say that so that Capcom wouldn't sue my scaly hide off). Ya'll are never gonna guess what happened today! I got my third - and last - Hepatitis B shot! This was the worst one of 'em all. The culture that they inoculated us with was extremely strong. Heh...you should've seen the girl who got her shot before me! The nurse poked the needle into her arm, and as the vaccine was injected, the girl's eyes got wider, and wider and finally she screamed, "AAAHHH, Goddammit that HURTS!" Then my turn came around. As I rolled up my sleeve to take my shot like a good hatchling, the nurse got all flustered and asked me if I was pregnant (No, I'm not fat, they have to ask every female they inoculate). I pointed to my male friend, who had come to get jabbed as well, and said "No, but HE is." 

Torontonian nurses have no sense of humour. 

The good news is, I got a cute little keychain. It has a picture of a cartoon virus on it, and under the disease in sprawled handwriting, there is a slogan that states 'Get the Vax!' as if getting a Hepatitis B vaccine is as thrilling as a roller coaster ride to hell and back. I say it would be more accurate if the keychain stated 'I got jabbed three times and all I got was this crappy keychain!'. My friend said it should say 'Bite me, I'm vaccinated against Hepatitis'. In the same vein, I don't think that diseases have googly - eyes like the one featured on the keychain. I'm under the impression that you people don't care. On with the story! This is an important chapter, and I'm only gonna write it once, so read it carefully! 

The heavy titanium gates clattered loudly as Slash Man shut them behind the compy pack he had ushered into the pen. He spoke to Proto in a loud voice in an effort to be heard over the din. 

"Thanks for your help, Proto. It's a good thing I got all the dinosaurs back into the park, or I really would have been up a certain creek without a paddle." 

Proto stifled a yawn as he watched some mets repair the electric fence that Slash's scaly friends had torn down. " 's no problem. So, what now?" 

Slash offered Proto a puzzled glance. "What do you mean 'what now'?" 

"I mean, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" 

Slash shifted his eyes nervously and stared at the grass that was stamped with small dino - footprints . He extracted a rapidly melting chocolate bar from one of his pockets, broke it into bite sized pieces and handed them one by one to the eager tide of squeaking compies inside the den. "Uhm...nothing...really...the park is closed to the public until those mets finish that fence...maybe I'll do laundry and...and..stuff..." Slash's voice trailed off pathetically. He did not want Proto to know what the rest of his day consisted of. In truth, there was a wing - ding of sorts going on in Skull Castle to honour the creation of the first member of a species that would ultimately lead to the demise of the human race: A 'reploid' named Zero. Slash had planned on attending the party. But the whole 'reploid' business was to be kept under wraps. Slash had been forbidden to tell anyone about it, least of all Mega's brother. "I...I'll catch you later, Proto!" Slash finished up quickly and bounded out of sight on all fours. Proto raised an inquisive eyebrow at the clumsy, hesitant speech and sudden departure of the beast - bot, but he shrugged it off. He decided he would make sure everything was secure in the park before he would head home. 

"So Wily WASN'T really responsible for the dino - rampage." Proto muttered thoughtfully. "Guess I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." 

Although the weather was beautiful, a chill shuddered through the visored bot. "Damn, I miss my scarf! I'm freezing!!" 

"Proootooo!" 

Mega's call drifted eerily through the rubble strewn on the abandoned street before it bounced back to him in a hollow echo. He got no response. Not discouraged, he took another deep breath: 

"PRRROOOOOOTOOOOOOOOO! Come out, come out, where ever you are! Show your ugly face!" 

Still no response. A hint of fear and worry began to trickle into Mega's heart. "Aw man! Something BIG has been happening here, and knowing Proto, he got caught up in it when he went 'scouting'." 

The wind sighed warmly, symthesizing with Mega's concern. It also bore a bright yellow object, and dispensed it gently at Mega's feet. It appeared to be a dirty article of clothing. It was tattered...it had obviously witnessed a huge battle, and the victor had torn it to shreds. Despite this guise, there was no mistaking the object for what it was: 

"Proto's scarf?" 

"A toast!" Cried Bass has he thrust his fine goblet of violet hued wine into the air. "To Wily, the creator of the reploid species!" 

The robots present responded to Bass in one resounding voice: "Aye!" 

Bass clapped Wily on the back. "You're a genius, Doc!" 

Wily did not answer. Indeed, he was turning an interesting shade of green. He was on his fourth cup of wine, and the old fellow was zombied right out of his mind. Still, he managed to offer the robots a weak, lopsided smile. The cheering of the robots doubled, and turned into an all - out roar of joy. Zero, who sat to the right of his creator, regarded his crazed brothers with frightened eyes. 

"Life goes on!" Bass remarked cheerfully as he quaffed back the drink. Once their superior had finished his drink, the rest of the robots started on theirs as if on a signal. 

Slash jumped right on the table and actually lapped up his wine like a dog drinking out of a toilet bowl, only much stranger. 

Shade Man sat silently. There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes as he stared at the wine before him. He would have preferred a drink more along the lines of fresh virgin's blood, but he still sipped the wine without complaint. He saved a wee bit for Flagg, who was perched happily on his shoulder. The raven helped himself, then raised his grotesque head and cocked a sharp eye at Bass. Bass merely glared back at Flagg with venomous hate in his optics. No one was really sure what Flagg and Bass had against each other. 

There was an audible thump next to Bass. Wily had completely passed out. 

Mega's thoughts whirred. The hand that clutched his sibling's tattered scarf was hit with tremors. The markings on the scarf reported that Proto had gone to that Great Big Robot Factory in the Sky, compliments of the dinosaurs that had stormed the city. Mega just knew it. His next black thought surfaced: Who had released the dinosaurs? 

Wily. No doubt. 

Wily had released the dinosaurs to destroy the city - 

- and the dinosaurs had killed Proto. 

Unbridled rage blossomed in Mega. "I'VE - HAD - ENOUGH!" He wistfully looked down at his arm cannon. One single shot would put an end to the old man. One shot...and it would be over. However, common sense suddenly quenched Mega's thirst for revenge. He knew that killing Wily would be more trouble than it was worth. Robots couldn't break the first rule of robotics, yadda yadda yadda. If he were to kill Wily, he would probably be deactivated. And even if he wasn't, the media would probably make his life a living hell. Mega began to despair. He couldn't just let Wily walk away with this. SOMETHING had to be done... 

An idea lit up in Mega's eyes. "I know! I'm going to go to Wily's castle and tell him off once and for all!" 

"She's got a smiiiile that, it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memorieeees, where every - thin' was as fresh as the bright blue sky..sky...sky..." 

Castor grimaced sourly at his twin's off - key caterwauling. But he did not complain. The duo was situated outside, guarding the fortress as per usual. As a result, the worst of the god awful sound was mercifully carried away by the wind, far from Castor's ears. 

"Now and theeeen when I see her face, it takes me away to that special place, and if I stare to long, I'd prolly break down and CRY!" 

Castor's patience had been stretched paper thin. Kindess only went so far. "Hey Pollux.." 

Pollux stopped his noise. Yeah?" 

"You remind me of something." 

Pollux puffed with pride. "A great opera singer?" 

"No. A cat in heat." 

"HEEEEY! That's so MEAN!" 

"I'm just telling the truth." Castor stated mildly. "Now, if you had been watching for intruders rather than singing dumb songs that date back to the twentieth century, you would have noticed that someone is approaching the castle." Castor pointed a lazy finger at an unidentified shadow that was coming rapidly towards them. "Whoever it is seems pretty peeved. Wonder who it is." 

Silence followed Castor's inquiry as the shadow became more and more recognizable. Pollux suddenly made a strangled, choking sound. "It's...it'sssss...Mega Man...!" 

The little blue bomber came striding down the path to the castle like a king. He meant business, judging by his unwavering speed and focus on the hateful structure that loomed before him. Both twins leapt to their feet in unison. Completely forsaking his duties as a guard, Pollux dove into some bushes beside him. 

"POLLUX!" Screamed Castor hysterically. "Get back here! We have to keep Mega out and guard Wily!" 

"Screw that! Wily can defend his OWN blasted castle," was Pollux's cowardly response from his sheath of leaves. "I quit!" 

"You CAN'T quit, you IJIT!" 

"JUST TRY TO BLOODY WELL STOP ME!!!" 

Castor thrust his hand into the bushes and groped around until he found one of his twin's gem - gilded boots. He began to pull it in a futile effort to drag Pollux out. "Pollux! Get out NOW, or I'll...I'll...tell Wily that YOU were the one who tried to shave Zero's head!" 

Pollux blindly delivered a lovely kick to Castor's shin. "YOU DO THAT AND I'LL RIP YOUR STINKING GUTS OUT!" 

Castor cried out and doubled over as the kick found its mark. When he regained his composure, he began to make up some great adjectives to describe his brother using words that were certainly not suitable for table talk. The Gemini Men were too busy bickering to notice that Mega Man had soared by them and had entered the fortress a full two minutes ago. 

Mega plowed relentlessly through the fortress, propelled by his animosity for Wily. A batauntaun suddenly dove at him, fangs glistening. Mega blasted it. A sniper joe leapt at him out of the shadows. Mega blasted it. A tour - bot welcomed him warmly to Skull Fortress. Mega blasted it. Oops. Two out of three ain't bad. When Mega reached the formidable but familiar staircase that wove its way to Wily's chambers, he did not break his pace. He shot up, skipping every other step. Now a tunnel - like hallway stretched before him with massive steel doors at the tail. Mega was just about to start down the hallway when something lupine, purple and silver casually strolled across his path. 

"Gospel?" 

Devoid of his master, the robodog stood stock still and looked at his nemesis with a perfect picture of terror in his eyes. He didn't want to fight Mega without Bass there to instruct him. So, in hopes that Mega would leave him alone, Gospel flipped on his back and played dead. Mega shook his head, stepped over Gospel's faux corpse, and continued down the hall. He crashed through the heavy steel doors to the chamber. There, he was met with a pretty interesting sight. Several robot masters were in a small cluster around a fine table, celebrating some sort of occasion. In Mega's fevered mind, he thought they were celebrating the demise of his brother. Rage boiled within him. 

Upon hearing the door crash open and seeing Mega standing in the large doorway like a small but deadly omen, the robots were a little slow to react. The wine they had just consumed probably played a factor in that fact. 

Suddenly, with a noble battle cry, Snake Man flung himself at his enemy. Mega greeted the serpentine robot's onward rush by grabbing Snake's wrist, twisting it, then flipping him on the ground with a hollow clang. Monty the Python was flung from Snake's neck. The vile serpent lay in thick coils on the floor, stunned for a bit. Now that he was deprived of his master's body heat, he had adjust his own body temp to the cold stone he rested upon before he could take off. 

Several other bots surged forward to challenge Mega, but he fought them like a berserker. His power seemed to have doubled in his wrath . One by one, they all pretty much 'got theirs', as the expression went. Eventually, the flood of warriors waned. Only Bass remained standing, seemingly undaunted by Mega's inhuman acts of strength. He was Wily's last bodyguard, and he was determined to let no harm come to his master. The intoxicated Wily was shaking and shuddering like a wounded guppy. Mega got a perfect view of his terrified, ages - old nemesis, but there was one thing he did NOT see. Beside Wily, but shielded from Mega's sight courtesy of Bass' oily - black body, was a certain crimson and gold figure who was watching the fun with with quiet awe, his humanlike eyes taking in every detail of this blue attacker... 

Bass smirked diabolically. "Well, well WELL! If it isn't the tooth fairy!" 

Mega's expression of anger melted into confusion. "What's THAT supposed to mean?" 

Bass shrugged his plated shoulders. "Well, I don't rightly know. But it sounds good, don't you think?" 

Without a pause, Bass delivered a jarring kick to Mega's stomach. Unprepared for this action, Mega reeled backwards and doubled over. A split second later, the happy end of Bass' arm cannon was aimed right at Mega's face. It was all over. From miles away, Mega could hear Bass triumphantly stating, "He who hesitates is...um...what's that word...lost! Yeah, that's it!" 

Suddenly, Bass' arm cannon jerked back with a curse and a scream. Mega dared to open one eye. He couldn't believe the sight he was met with. There was Flagg, Shade Man's infamous pet raven, hurling his body at Bass like a missile of feathers and talons. Bass echoed Flagg's scream as he wildly flailed his arms this way and that. Mega saw his chance. A sharp report rang out as he fired two shots aimed at Bass. The first one quite unexpectedly hit Bass' vital point, and felled the black bot instantly. Flagg fluttered off and perched ominously on the rafters, unhurt. He set at once to preening his ebony feathers. Mega's second plasma shot, however, sailed right past Bass' collapsed body, and hit Wily in the chest square and true. Wily sailed back in his chair a few feet, then toppled over. He was dead before he even hit the ground. 

The air around Mega seemed to crash. Everything was silent. Nothing moved. Time was still. Only the grey ribbon of smoke that trailed lazily from Mega's warm cannon was real. From Mega's feet, Bass' muffled voice parted the curtain of silence with the awful truth: 

"You've killed him, Mega." 

These words hit Mega like an arrow. They snapped him out of his deep trance. "But...I didn't mean to...he...I...you..." 

"You've broken the first rule of robotics to do what you've always wanted to do. You must be very proud." Bass' voice was devoid of emotion. 

"But..." 

The nearly forgotten pile of damaged robots that had made the mistake of challenging Mega earlier untangled itself. Those robots that still had the energy needed to stand up and walk began to lurch eerily like zombies, not towards Mega, but towards their master, Wily, who lay weeping blood. Their voices rose and twisted together into a quiet but terrible chant. "Killed him...Killed him...Killer. Killer. Killer." 

Mega tried to explain that the second shot had been meant for Bass, not Wily, but the words died on his lips as he faced their accusing glares. No one would believe him. It was a well known fact amoung humans and robots alike that Mega had come close to expressing his venom for Wily with his arm cannon more than once. 

These thoughts wandered in Mega's mind, disturbing him greatly. So greatly, in fact, that he hardly noticed the large, crimson and gold robot that crouched by the still - warm body of Wily. The odd robot turned away from Wily's sickening corpse with an expression of grief that none of the other robots seemed to wear. The robot's expression of regret melted into hatred as he turned his eyes on Mega. The eyes were incredible. They seemed to have a humanlike glitter of intelligence and emotion in them. They searched Mega, found him, and marked him... 

The whole excitement and overall nuttiness of the day was too much for Mega to handle. His confusion and fear merged into an immeasurable terror. He backed up a step. Then another step. The robots were too concerned about their master to worry about him. 

The stricken Bass had a dull, knowing smile plastered to his face as he looked at Mega freaked expression from his odd viewpoint on the floor. Mega had killed a human, and if the authorities found him, it was over for the blue guy. "Knowing Mega, he would turn himself into the authorities." Bass thought with disgust. A robot that broke the first rule of robotics ('A robot must never kill a human, no matter how big of a screwball that human is'), ergo, he would have to suffer the consequences. 

Mega continued to slowly back out of the near - silent room. Still no one pursued him. Only Bass stared after him gleefully, and the odd crimson robot still tacked his deadly eyes on Mega. Suddenly, the crimson robot took one slow step towards Mega. It was at this point that Mega turned right around and broke into a blind run like a child frightened by a stranger. He was nearly halfway down the huge staircase he had ascended earlier when he finally teleported to the temporary safety of Light's lab. 

Chapter 9: Death and Directions

"I'm telling you! The ticket to world domination is to own the electric company and the railroads! After that, it's only a matter of time before I can take over the prisons! Then, I shall be unstoppable, and I will lord over every sorry creature on God's green earth from my four - star hotel on Boardwalk!!" Proto bashed his armoured fist on the shaky table to underscore his point. 

Roll calmly motioned for her brother to sit back down. "Proto, settle, settle. Stop taking this so seriously. It's only a Monopoly game." 

A sheepish smile surfaced on Proto has he found his seat. "Sorry. I just got caught up in this." He picked up the game dice and rattled it in his hand. "C'mon, lucky seven! Daddy needs a new scarf! He lost his old one to rabid raptors!" 

With a skilled flick of his wrist, Proto sent the dice tumbling across the board. "Aw MAN! Snake eyes! At any rate, I get to pick up a 'Chance' card!" Proto nicked the first card off of the orange pile and examined it. "All right! Second place in a beauty contest! I guess no one can resist my good looks!" 

Roll muttered something under her breath about the beauty contest being judged by a bunch of jungle apes. Proto was to busy strutting up and down the playroom like a stuck up model to pay any heed. 

When he had finally tired of showing off to no one in particular, Proto returned to the game and stayed in his amiable mood...until he landed on Park Place, which was owned by Roll. To make matters worse, the block of land sported the dreaded barn - red Hotel game piece. Roll saw Proto's awkward position and began to laugh cold - bloodedly. 

"All right, Brad Pitt! Cough up the money!" 

"Don't I get a discount for being family?" Proto pleaded. 

"No. I hate freeloaders." 

Proto shrugged. "Oh well. Can't win 'em all, I suppose!" He began to dig around in the mixed - up pile of play money beside him to pay for his stay. This was quite unlike Roll, who had her money set up all tidy and easy to access. 

Suddenly, Proto stopped rummaging around. He gaped at Roll with a shocked expression. "Roll! Look behind you! Isn't that Howard Stern?" 

Roll looked about her frantically. "Where?!" 

With his sister's eyes temporarily off the game, Proto casually sent a hand sweeping over the game board. Game pieces, houses, hotels and cards fell around them like coloured rain. Roll jerked back around and threw her sore - loser brother an angry glance. 

"PROTO!" 

"What?! My hand slipped! It's a nervous twitch, and I'm a little sensitive about it if you don't mind!" 

The cozy room was suddenly filled with the characteristic hiss of a teleportation beam. Within seconds, a rather bewildered looking Mega Man materialized in front of his siblings. Proto broke out into a grin. 

"Hey, Rocky Horror! Wassup?" 

The instant that Mega's eyes swept over Proto, his face drained of all colour. He pointed to Proto with a trembling finger. "Yuh...uh...you're...suppos t' be....duh...duh...." 

Proto removed his helmet and clapped it against his chest with a mockingly solemn expression. "That's my brother speaking. What a way with words!" 

"You...you're supposed to be DEAD!" Mega managed to spit out in a strangled half - scream. 

Proto stole a sorrowful glance at the game board he had upset earlier. "Ah yes, how I do wish I was dead..I owe Roll quite a bit of money. Can you lend me five thousand, Rock? I'll pay you back tomorrow, I swear." 

Mega lunged towards Proto and grabbed the startled bot by his shoulders. He tried to look directly into his brother's eyes, but all he saw beyond the visor was his own terrified expression. 

Proto squirmed slightly under Mega's hold. "Uh...Rock? You're my brother and all, but you're invading my personal space, and I don't really care for that. What's your problem? What do you mean I'm supposed to be dead?" 

Mega somehow regained enough of his composure to collapse into a chair and tell his brother about the torn - up scarf he had collected on the ruined city streets, and about how he had been worried sick that Proto had fallen victim to the dinosaur attack. Proto beamed hugely as he heard this. 

"Awww...isn't that sweet? Rock was actually WORRIED 'bout me!" Now it was Proto's turn to invade Mega's 'personal space' as he swept his brother up into a bear - hug. 

Mega struggled to free himself from the affectionate clasp. "So then...what HAPPENED? Where's your scarf?!" Mega managed to croak. 

Proto let Mega get a little air. "Well, it turns out that the dinosaurs that had a walk through the city were fugitives from Slash Man's Robosaur Park. The electric fence had been shut down, and Slash didn't monitor the activities of the dinosaurs close enough. Ergo, the dinos escaped. I met up with Slash Man. He's really sorry that he leveled the city, and he gladly took up my offer to help him put the dinos back. As for my scarf.." Proto's voice became laced with regret, "..well, before I met up with Slash, a nice little robotic velociraptor decided to play 'Tug of War' with me, which turned my scarf into the equivalent of a noose. I had to give the raptor my scarf. Unfortunately, air is a bit more precious than a scrap of clothing." 

"Yeah, life's like that." Roll sighed. 

Proto let go of Mega. To his surprise, his brother collapsed to the ground like a blue sac of potatoes. His eyes seemed vacant. "I haven't finished telling you what happened after I found your scarf." He said in a faint whisper that still succeeded in sending uneasy chills up Proto's spine. 

"All right then...go on." Proto egged. 

All energy seemed to be drained from Mega now. He leaned his head against the table leg situated conveniently beside him and quietly told his siblings about how he had gone to Skull Castle to tell off Wily for killing Proto, and ended up killing the old fellow quite by accident. There was a slight pause after Mega had finished. Proto and Roll exchanged exasperated glances. This whole awful situation seemed to echo the conversation they had had a while back about Mega's emotions taking control of him, resulting in Wily getting hurt. 

"Rock...it WAS an accident that Wily died, right?" Roll tried to keep her voice steady, but there was a note of urgent terror in it. 

Mega only nodded numbly. "What's gonna happen to me now? Will I be deactivated?" 

"I don't think it'll happen if it was an ACCIDENT." Proto tried to sound hopeful, but he knew it was useless. There was no proof that it had been an accident, and Mega was not known to love Wily. Some folks were certainly going to assume that he had killed the old scientist on purpose. And since Mega had assumed that Proto had been killed by Wily...well, that was just the final blow of the executioner's axe. Proto could hear the accusing voices now: "Mega Man had killed Wily to get revenge for his brother's death." 

"Maybe Wily's robots who witnessed the death will confess that Rock hadn't shot Wily on purpose," he mused mentally, but he wisely ended up just chalking that prospect under "Things that probably wouldn't happen even if Hell froze over". Everything seemed to be in a messy - mushy - mix - up...a row of toppled dominos, all set off by Slash Man's carelessness. 

Roll's expression finally reflected her true feelings of fear for her brother's future as she sat down next to him and put an arm around his shaking shoulders in a fruitless effort to comfort him. "I'd be lying if I said that everything will be back to normal someday, Rock." 

Bass drifted in and out of consciousness as his systems attempted to repair his extensive damage caused by his short battle with Mega. He became quite awake, however, when he heard some dull clanks being emitted from the top of his helmet. He craned his neck around just enough to see that Flagg was pecking angrily at his gold - finned headpiece. 

"Oh, get the hell away from me, you vulture! Go make life miserable for someone else. Here, eat Wily's corpse; he's dead anyway." Bass growled weakly. 

With these words from his enemy, Flagg unfolded his grand wings a bit and snapped his beak open and shut just inches from Bass' nose. 

"rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUFFFF!" Bass barked. 

Flagg disappeared in a frightened black whirlwind of feathers. Bass grinned in spite of himself. He slowly hauled his battered body up into a standing position. He limped over to the small cluster of robots that mused over Wily's fallen body. Slash Man saw Bass standing over him like a black entity favouring its right arm. 

"Sooooo....now what?" The wild orange robot questioned of his superiour. 

"What do you mean, 'now what'?" 

"Are you sure that Wily's dead?" 

"Well, he's stopped breathing and his body's gone cold! I think that makes it a bit bleedin' obvious!" Bass snarled. 

Slash shrugged. "Well, maybe he's just holding his breath." 

"Maybe he's....WHAT!? My God, you're IMPOSSIBLE!" 

Unnoticed by his brothers, Zero sat huddled with his knees against his chest in a dark corner near Wily's still form, a victim to his superiour emotions. His father was dead...what was left for him? 

Slash spoke up, temporarily renting the mist of gloom that surrounded Zero. 

"Well, Bass, if you're so smart, tell us what to do with this body. If we want to bury it, there's a big rubber tree plant with a very large flower pot to it just outside of this room...I think he just MAY fit if we break a bone here and there...." 

"Are you insane!?" Bass shrieked. "Don't you see an opportunity here? Mega shot Wily, and he may think that he's won. But all we have to do is show Wily's body to the media and tell them the truth....that Mega killed him. To put it bluntly, Mega is pretty much screwed." 

Slash Man sprang up and punched the air with his clawed fist. "Huzzah! Bass, you're brilliant! I think-- " 

Slash never had a chance to tell Bass what he thought, for as soon as he had uttered that last phrase, his optics suddenly went dim and he pitched over and fell flat on his face. 

"Sir Slash! What in the order of the Kingfisher and the Rose has happened!?" Knight Man managed to spit out seconds before he crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap. He was followed almost instantly by Cut Man. 

"Oh no!" Bass groaned faintly. "Not now! Not NOW!" 

Snake and Shade Man pounced on Bass immediately. "Bass, you know what's going on! Why are all the robots shutting down!?" 

"A while ago, Wily told me that there's a chip of some sort in all of us that would cause us to shut down one by one when he died." Bass' voice was flat. "I don't know how the chip would work, but it seems to be doing its job with ease right now!" Bass finished just as Toad Man croaked at his black boots (Bad pun #3! I deserve to be shot!). Bass could feel his own systems begging to shut down under the sudden, sleepy lure that the mysterious chip cast upon them. Bass sympathized with his circuits, but he used all his will to sternly command them to stay functional. Snake Man and Shade Man were apparently doing the same judging by the way they swayed and blinked rapidly. 

"I can't shut down now!" Shade Man wailed. "So much blood to drink! So many humans to assimilate into my Unholy Vampire Army of the Night! Besides, what will Flagg do without me!?" 

"Get caught in some power lines, I should hope." Bass muttered under his breath. He bit his tongue as he felt himself nodding off. 

"Never mind your bird!" Snake Man echoed Shade's pathetic whine. "What about my Monty?" 

Bass waved his arms with the strength he had left. "What about Wily!? The media! We gotta...gotta...oh, who am I kidding?" Bass began to succumb to the will of the chip, as did Snake and Shade. 

Zero, the only robot in the room who did not posses the chip, was suddenly pulled out of his grieving for Wily by a terror that was spawned while he watched his brother and teacher, Bass, sink to the ground like a wilted black weed. 

"Bass!" He cried as he scrambled frantically to his brother's side. Bass opened his eyes slightly when he heard Zero's voice. He offered the crimson figure a weak smile. 

"Sorry, buddy....it's the end for me. I haven't taught you everything I would have liked to. I can only do one more thing before I go. Fetch me that phone over there." Bass motioned towards a cell phone that rested on a nearby table. Zero did as he was told. Bass pulled up enough strength to dial a number and hold the phone up to his ear. 

"Hello? Is this the Daily Blah newspaper? Good...this is Bass. Yes, the same Bass that was created by Wily." There was a slight pause on Bass' end. "Well yeah, it's probably the same Bass who drove the tank through your living room window, too. What did you say your last name was? Winnik? Yes, I'm pretty sure that it was me who did that. No, don't hang up on me, you fool! Listen! Wily's been shot by none other than - get this! - Mega Man. He's pretty much sealed the fates of the rest of us robots, too. I figured that my last action should be to bring this event into the light.....yes, Wily's dead. Yes, I'm sure. No, he is NOT holding his breath! Okay? This is the story of the year! Are you gonna report it, or do I have to call up the Weekly Star? I bet they'd be interested!....Heh heh...I thought so! When you enter the fortress, be careful of the alligator pits, the killer bee nests, and the psycho robot guards that're armed to the teeth. Okay Mr. Winnik, you have yourself a nice day, you hear? Bye!" 

Bass let the receiver slip out of his near - lifeless fingers. He turned his head away from Zero. He was actually getting a little emotional over leaving the reploid. "Listen, Zero. Soon enough, reporters are gonna be swarming here. You'd best not stay. They'll ask you questions that you won't be able to answer. Wily mentioned earlier that he planned to shut you in a capsule at the end of a period spanning four months, after which you'd shut down automatically, much the same way I am now. That capsule is hidden far, far downstairs, in storage room 7-G, behind some loose bricks in the north wall. I would tell you to enter it now, but since you'd end up just standing there until four months was up, you'd probably become bored out of your skull. Therefore, I think you should get out into the world and learn a bit more about it. Learn what I couldn't get a chance to teach you. You'll be fine...just remember..." At this point, Bass' eyes became quite alert as they locked with Zero's. "NEVER ever tell ANYONE that Wily created you. Do you understand? And until you wake up from your 30 year hibernation, don't harm any humans! No matter how much they sicken you. Don't do anything to arouse suspicion, or you'll blow the whole deal. Once four months are up, just come back to the fortress...I pray that it'll still be left intact. Then enter the capsule. If the fortress is destroyed and you can't enter the capsule, find somewhere else to hibernate. The only problem with that is I don't know when you'll wake up. The capsule is designed to pull you out of your sleep at an appropriate time. Okay?" 

Zero's body shuddered with sobs, but he managed to nod. 

A grin played on Bass' mouth as he observed his brother's grief. "Just remember, Zero...you're a reploid. Superiour to humans in almost every way. Use that knowledge and make me proud." Bass ceased breathing as he submitted to the will of the chip. 

A deathly silence settled over the room. Flagg perched on the immobile chest of Shade Man and mourned his master with a woebegone cry that would have shattered anyone's heart. Zero mimicked the bird's cry as he hunched over the body of his ebony brother. While Bass' directions were still fresh in his mind, Zero felt hopelessly lost in a dark wood of confusion. 

His weeping passed like a storm. He sat silently as the light of reason began to penetrate his dark clouds. The light touched Bass' last words and illuminated them with startling brilliance. Zero stood up and gave not a backward glance to his fallen brothers or father as he headed towards the entrance of Skull fortress. The training was over. His real life was to begin now. 

He was a reploid.... 

And he would make Bass proud.

Chapter 10: Potatoes, Cellphones, and Bro Bots

Proto frowned hugely as he regarded the swelling sea of TV and newspaper reporters that swarmed before the main doorway of Light's lab. A muffled roar of miscellaneous voices rose from the crowd, but every individual was generally asking Proto Man to grant the same request: they wanted to know exactly what had happened when Mega Man had killed Wily. Accident or not, Wily's death was big news. 

Proto began to sway a little, feeling oppressed by the flashing camera bulbs and sound of rattling papers that emanated from the tangle of people. He never took well to crowds, noise or confusion, and the very scent and stand - offishness of most humans always gave him an icky feeling in the back of his throat. 

The tide of reporters was creeping up to the door of the lab that Proto stood in, much to his dismay. Their glittering eyes and eager expressions reminded Proto uneasily about the pack of compies he had faced not long ago. Frustrated, he waved his arms at the persistent buggers. 

"Go away! We're...closed or...or...something!" He shouted angrily. 

One of the reporters in front, a young human male, tossed Proto's advice right over his shoulder and into the wind as he took a step closer. "Proto Man, how do you feel about the fact that your brother murdered Wily?" 

"For the fifteenth time, he didn't 'murder' anyone, you ijit!" Proto snarled, but his voice was lost in the growing din. He raised it again. "Wily's death was an accident. Now get out of here! ALL of you!! Go home and curse your mothers for ever bringing such slow, deaf idiots as yourselves into this world!" 

"Please, just one interview with you!" One of the reporters pleaded. 

"No! Go home!" 

"How about Dr. Light? Can we speak to him?" 

"No. The Doc has...uh, the Doc has ebola." 

"Impossible!" The reporter scoffed. "That disease was wiped out ages ago!" 

"Yeah, well, uh...this is one of those new strains. You know, the magical kind." 

"Okay, whatever. What about Mega Man? Can we speak to him?" 

"Dear Creeping Gods, no! Mega Man has...has...forgotten how to speak English." 

"How can that be? Robots don't forget!" 

Proto offered the bewildered reporter a wry grin. "I guess that makes Mega special, doesn't it?" 

Back inside the lab, Mega was a mess, which is a hell of a lot less funny than that may sound. He was trembling, and wearing the expression of a whipped dog. The sounds of the activities of the reporters outside wafted to his ears, constantly reminding him of what waited for him out there. A pack of half-starved wolves, ready to tear him apart in a second with inquires. 

Doc Light leaned heavily against one of the lab walls near his frightened 'boy'. 

"All right, Rock." He drawled. "Calm it down, and tell me again, in your own words, what happened..." 

Mega was a little reassured by the monotone yet soothing voice of his creator, so, in a shaky voice, he told the story of his 'revenge' all over again. As Mega concluded his story, Light rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. There was the ol' migraine attack again. "Okay, folks...let's not panic. It was an accident. Maybe everything will turn out all right." 

Light was interrupted by the familiar clang of metal boots echoing down the hall. A cranky Proto Man bust into the room. Wordlessly, he headed to the kitchen, and stormed out a few minutes later, brandishing an armful of potatoes. The maroon and silver bot was muttering something about "Getting rid of those damned reporters even if he had to stoop to juvenile acts to do so." Seconds later, muffled shouts and dull explosions could be heard as Proto gleefully whipped the tubers at the reporters, cleansing the doorstep of them, if only temporarily. 

Mega shifted uncomfortably, and cleared his throat. There was one scrap of info he had been withholding from his family this whole time, and that was about that odd blond-haired robot he had encountered shortly after Wily had bought the farm. He had withheld the info until now, because the sight of that robot had seriously scared him halfway out of his mind. There was something about it that he couldn't put his finger on. It was as if the robot had radiated a disarming, malignant power that was almost unworldly. And those penetrating eyes didn't belong to any sort of regular robot. When Mega tried to recall them, the memory summoned an immeasurable fear into his heart, a feeling he didn't really enjoy. 

"Doc...?" 

"Yes?" 

"I didn't tell you this before. I met a new robot when Wily was...uh, iced." 

Light dismissed this with a simple wave of his hand. "Never mind that. Wily was always dingaling with mechanics, and always coming up with new warriors..." 

"No Doc." Mega's voice was quiet. "This was different. Much different." 

"What was so different about it?" 

Mega suddenly looked small and helpless, as if his soul had been yanked out of his body by the devil. "It was...just...I don't know! It was just so humanlike. Hard to explain." 

All the air rushed out of Light's weary lungs. His head began to throb at Mega's last words. 

Mega and Roll looked at the Doc with concerned interest. "Something wrong, Doc?" 

Dr. Light did not answer. His mind seemed to be coated with a fuzzy panic. He steadied himself a bit fixed his eyes on Mega. 

"Rock..you said that this robot was 'humanlike'? In what way?" 

Mega shrugged. "It's really hard to explain. Its actions and emotions seemed richer and more real than any of the other robots there. Like a human or something." 

Dr. Light's world crashed. This was it. Wily really HAD used those reploid plans that Bass had stolen so long ago. He had built a reploid. Dr. Light didn't doubt it, even if Mega's description of the robot had been vague. And there was little doubt that the reploid would be put to ill use. Even if Wily was dead now, there was an excellent chance that the twisted scientist had told the reploid what to do with its future life, i.e. kill humans, cause general destruction. Also, there was a vital hibernation period of at least thirty years that reploids needed to go through to make sure that their advanced minds will develop enough to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong. It was crucially important that they had judgment, as a reploid's conscience was the only thing that would keep it from blasting all sorts of neat stuff. Dr. Light had written that clearly on his notes. He prayed that Wily would at least have HIS reploid go through the hibernation process so that it would be a bit more stable. 

Dr. Light fell into a chair behind him and did some quick calculating in his head. He was sure that Wily WOULD have the reploid hibernate. Wily was a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid. On the notes, Light had indicated that he was going to put his own reploid into hibernation, should he ever create one. Wily would likely realize that an unstable reploid is not a happy reploid, and would do the same. Oh, this was going to be a fun future. 

"Hey Doc. You die?" 

Mega Man's inquisitive voice brought Light's thoughts thundering back to the present. Roll stood beside her brother, a look of concern etched into her face. 

The Doc snapped out of his trance and began to speak in a hushed voice. "What you saw at Wily's fortress, Rock, was not a robot. It was a reploid. There's a world of difference, and I'll explain it to you later. But I'll tell you this much. Reploids are dangerous. Very much so. I should know: I created the plans for the construction of one, but I never carried them out because I was fearful of what they were capable of. But your little friend, Bass, stole them a long time ago when he ransacked the lab. Back then, I told you he hadn't really taken anything of very great value, but I was lying. Wily has obviously created a reploid that'll wreak havoc in the future. I can't allow that to happen. I created the plans, and they were my responsibility. I have to find some way to retaliate." He slowly rose to his feet, his body creaking in protest to this movement. Sighing, Light was reminded that he had little time. 

"Rock, hear me out for a second...." 

Proto was painfully aware of the fact that he was running out of creative ways to scatter the reporters from Light's door. He involuntarily cried out as the flash from a camera lit up the world for a second. Even with his visor, Proto was extremely sensitive to light. 

When the spots cleared, Proto was suddenly hit by an idea that made no sense at all. In other words, it was perfect. He dashed inside the lab as a streak of silver and returned to the reporters with a cellphone in his hand. He fixed the journalist in the front of the mass with a friendly smile. 

"Hey. Your mother's on the phone." 

At these words, the reporter's eyes grew to twice their normal size. A scream escaped him as he whipped around 180 degrees and began to claw his way into the crowd. 

Proto chuckled as he listened to the dialtone in his ear. "I'm surprised that worked. Maybe his mother was a psychotic rodeo clown. Wouldn't surprise me. Humans are so messed." 

John Winnik, a famed journalist from the popular newspaper known as the Daily Blah, averted his sickened gaze from Wily's cold body to the unconscious forms of the robots strewn around him in an uneven pattern. Several reporters milled about the fortress, writing down various points, snapping photos, etc. John's partner, Sean Mac, whistled as he regarded the mess. 

John turned to his friend and jabbed a finger at the jumble of robots before him. "Do you know which one of these is that bastard, Bass?" 

Sean shrugged. 'No clue. Why?" 

"I was hoping to pry off his arm and use it to patch the gaping hole in my living room window! I'll never forget that tank attack." 

"Mmm. How touching. So what's gonna happen to this lovely fortress now that Wily is kaput?" 

John peered at the dripping, dank grey stones that surrounded him, and breathed of the unpleasant, stale air that swathed him. "I guess we'll just have it torn down, and give the robots to the Robot Museum. This place is an eyesore." 

Sean nodded in agreement. "Uh, so...you gonna take a picture of Wily's body, or what?" 

John was taken aback. "No thank YOU. Why don't you do it?" 

"I can't point a camera to save my life! Besides, I thought Sy was your photographer." 

John snorted. "Yeah, well, Sy ain't here now, is he?!" 

Sean shook his head numbly. 

John roused himself and clapped Sean on the back. "Tell you what! I'll take the picture of Wily's body, and you go call Sy's wife and tell her that her husband was devoured by a booby- trap full of alligators! Sound fair?" 

Proto was thankful for the onset of night. It was the time of day that the reporters shuffled away from the Lab and allowed Proto some peace and quiet until the reporters would return at dawn's first light, and the torture would begin anew. 

The night was perfectly still and the sky was crystal clear. Proto gazed up at the starts which hung in the ebony blackness like majestic, shimmering lamps, tributes to an awesome, ages-old heavenly power that no race on earth could completely comprehend. Taurus and Orion were locked in their eternal, starry battle, as were Draco and Hercules. A dreamy smile crossed Proto's face as he fell to his favourite pastime: counting stars. "One...two....three...four...five...six...seven...eight..." 

Proto was interrupted at seven hundred and three by a sullen clang beside him. He turned his helmeted head to see Mega Man sitting next to him. The small blue bot looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

'Something wrong, Rocky Horror?" 

"Yeah." Mega's voice was unusually heavy. "Light just gave me a sneak preview of the future, and it doesn't look pretty. Did the Doc ever explain to you what a reploid is?" 

Proto recalled the argument he had had long ago with his creator about the safety of the plans. Slowly, he nodded. 

"Well, " Mega continued, "it seems that when Bass ransacked our lab all those months ago, he stole the Doc's plans for a reploid, and Wily built one of his own. The Doc didn't tell me that the plans had been stolen at that time, because he didn't want me getting too 'angry'. I don't know what he was talking about when he said that." 

"Hmmm...that's a bugger." 

Mega picked up a rock and threw it into the darting shadows of the trees. "I haven't even gotten to the worst part. The Doc says that the reploid is probably even stronger than me. Besides that, we have NO idea when it may attack. Reploids' minds are very advanced but also very unstable. Because of this, a reploid may attack anyone...even its own creator. But if it hibernates for at least thirty years, its mind will become more secure. The Doc says he has reason to believe that Wily's reploid will go into hibernation and wake up in the future to cause trouble, which is most likely what Wily wants it to do." Mega paused. "Dr. Light wants me to be around in the future to retaliate any attacks the reploid might make on society." 

"That's a great idea!" 

"No. Let me finish, Proto. The only way for me to fight a reploid is to become a reploid myself." 

Proto looked blank. "What do you--?" 

"Dr. Light doesn't have the time to build a complete reploid, and even if he did, he lost the plans to Bass. But since my mind is almost as advanced as a reploid's, he says he remembers enough of his plans to turn ME into one quite easily. Then he'd put me into thirty year hibernation. There's a very good chance of it working...but I'd lose all my memory of my life as a 'bot." 

"But that would....suck!" Proto mentally cursed himself for not using a word that was a bit more compassionate. 

Mega stirred. "Yes, it would. But I'm going to accept." 

Proto actually became frightened at the thought of losing his brother. "No! You can't. I'LL take your place!" He said lamely. 

"Wow, one of your first unselfish acts towards me! Excuse me while I have a heart attack." Mega grinned teasingly. "Anyway, this is something I need to do. Humans in the future are gonna need to be protected against this 'reploid', and I'm the only one who can do it. I WANT to do this. Wily may be gone now, but that doesn't mean that crime etc. will just vanish into the air. You need to stay and protect this time period. I'll handle the future. Don't worry." 

The brothers sat in silence for a second, listening to the distant whirr of crickets in the evening's heat. Proto's voice ruined the fine stillness. 

"So...is the Doc gonna transform you right away?" 

"No. First I gotta pay a visit to Auto's shop and get the right materials." 

"Hm. On your way, you think you could stop at K-Mart and fetch me a new scarf...?" 

Chapter 11: Catching some Z's

"Hey...buddy...are you gonna pay for that?" 

Zero disgregarded this question as he pocketed an energy canister. 

The robust green and yellow robot behind the counter of the popluar robotic supply store known affectionately as 'Big Eddie's' cocked his head and frowned at the tall, scarlet robot that browsed freely amoung his wares. The odd stranger picked up some sort of nick-nack that Auto could not identify from his viewpoint. He got a perfect view, however, of the stranger examining the object, shrugging, and discarding the item over his plated shoulder. Auto nearly freaked, which was very unlike his humourous nature. 

"Hey, come ON!" Auto exclaimed as he waddled from his lair to see what damage the robot had caused to the object. "Don't throw stuff around like a Fishwife! Do you think nuclear atom splicers grow on trees?" 

"Hell with you, fat boy." 

"That's not very nice." 

"Ask me if I give a damn." Zero pocketed another small item to punctuate this statement. 

Auto sighed. Usually, almost nothing could daunt his good nature. This newcomer, however, was doing a very good job of undoing the happy-go-lucky air that surrouned the store owner. He realized that Eddie himself was going to have to handle this loser... 

Zero shuffled around the contents of another shelf . Annoyance welled up within his systems as he did so. Garbage, garbage, garbage. This cheap store didn't have what he was looking for, although Zero himself didn't have any idea what he WAS looking for. To vent his frustration, Zero pulled some stuff off the shelf and let it slide onto the floor. He felt a tiny glimmer of satisfaction as he listened to the resounding crash. 

As Zero stood ankle-deep in the debris of his destruction, he thought about how messed up his life had been since Bass had gone bye-bye. Without his ebony brother to lead him, Zero was pretty much lost. Sure, he would automatically deactivate in four months...but what was he to do until then? Eat stale fruitcake? Run up and down the city streets naked, screaming that Big Bird was coming to kill him? Obviously not. Bass had warned him to behave. But only seven days had passed since Zero had left Skull Castle, and already he was screwing up royal. 

One thing was certain: Zero had turned nastier since his departure. The loss of his father and brothers had not been good for his mental health. Besides that, now that he wandered the city streets, he found himself surrounded by humans. Humans. The very word dripped slowly into his circuts and tainted them with hate. He would never forget that mysterious, swirling entity that had hovered above him like a formless omen. He would never forget the entity's voice, which had sounded like gravel being shifted back and forth in a wooden bucket, telling him that humans were evil. And now that he actually had contact with them, Zero hated them. He hated their recklessness, their backstabbing nature, and the way they made themsevles out to be such a big screaming deal. Zero found that as each day passed, it got a little bit harder to refrain from going berserk and introducing a few dozen humans to the happy end of his blaster. But common sense was always there, nagging him and scolding him. He could not do any killing of that sort...not yet. 

Zero was pulled back into reality as a thin, unplesant feeling cut through him. It was a feeling we all get at one time or another: Zero felt like he was being WATCHED. 

But watched by what? Zero looked up down and around and finally at his armoured boots. There, standing no higher than Zero's knee, was the oddest creature he had ever laid eyes on. 

"Hey. Innkeeper. You've got rats." Zero's monotone voice betrayed his actual feelings of surprise. 

"That's not a rat, buddy." 

And, indeed, it probably wasn't. The little creature was a bright, firetruck red. Its head bore a crest that was almost suitcase shaped, and looked hollow. While the thing had no arms, it had two legs. It continuosly rocked back and forth on those legs in a rhythm that was as steady as the tides themselves. Its large eyes blinked in a manner that kept perfect time with its rocking. Those eyes were now looking directly at Zero, fixing him with a menacing glare. Zero felt a little bit overwhelmed. Zero didn't know many knee - high, dancing pieces of luggage that could deliver the 'evil eye' like this one did. 

"Hey big guy...who is this little freak and what does he want?" 

"That," said Auto, "is Eddie, robot 72080 of the Flip - Top breed. He is requesting that you return the materials that you stole." 

"What's he gonna do if I don't? Blink me to death?!" Zero snorted as aimed a swift kick at the small, seemingly defenseless form before him. To his surprise, the suitcase sidestepped the attack and retorted by delivering a head butt to Zero's knee. The crimson reploid yelped as his knee gave way and spilled him onto the item - strewn floor. All the items he had stowed away in his armour rolled out and became lost in the clutter. 

Above him, Auto broke into peals of laughter. He offered one of his big hands to Zero. Zero grudgingly accepted it and scrambled to his feet. Then, without hesitation, he aimed his arm cannon at Eddie. 

"Hey!" Auto said sharply, smacking Zero's cannon away from his friend. "That's not nice! Now come on. Let's have a little chit chat. I have a feeling you need one." 

Zero lowered his arm cannon, surprising himself. He felt a little reassured by Auto's friendly tone, so he accepted his offer. He felt lost and confused, and needed a friend to talk to, even if it was a big, dumb, fat robot that was painted the colour of mucus. However, he was wisely selective about what he told the big bot. 

"My name's Zero. I don't really know who I am. My creator abandoned me, and I've just been wandering around for the last little while." 

Auto's normally blank eyes suddenly brimmed with regret. "Aw, you poor thing...you're an orphan." 

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." 

Auto pounded Zero on the back, knocking the wind out of the reploid. "Well, that's enough about you! I'm Auto, and the store you stand in is called Big Eddie's! Not to toot my own horn, but we're pretty renowned! We supply Dr. Light himself with a large amount of materials!" 

Zero's circuts froze with a chilling hate. Dr. Light. He had heard that name before. But where? "Dr. who?" 

"Oh, you haven't heard of Dr. Light? He's famous! He's the creator of Rock, Roll, Tango, Beat..." 

Unbeknownst to Zero but knownst to us, Rock was Mega Man's real name. But since Zero didn't know that there was any relation at all between the two names, he merely smiled, the first one he had cracked in a long time. "That sounds a lot less like 'Dr. Light's Creations' and more like 'Mr. Holland's Opus'. 

Auto bellowed as if he had heard the best joke in the world, and slammed Zero on the back again. This time, Zero went staggering nearly halfway across the store. 

"I like you, buddy! And Eddie likes you too." 

Zero recovered himself. "Eddie? That dancing suitcase that I nearly shot? He talks?" 

"Well, not really. But he's my best friend..." 

"You're best friends with a mute, knee - high briefcase?" Zero slowly began inching towards the door in case he had to make a break from the loony bin he was currently enclosed in. 

"Yeah, Eddie helps me run the store." Auto said cheerfully. "Even though he can't talk, I understand everything he's trying to tell me!" 

Zero's curiousity finally overshadowed his uneasiness. "How do you communicate with him?" 

"One blink means yes, two means no." 

Zero couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

Auto lumbered towards Zero again and threw his thick arm around the reploid's shoulders. "I can tell I'm scaring ya, buddy. You can leave now if ya want, but afore ye go, could you please help me clean up the mess you made with your temper tantrum?" Auto motioned towards the shelf that Zero had pulled down. 

Disgusted, Zero peeled Auto's massive arm off of himself. "Why do you keep on making physical contact with me, Auto? Are you coming on to me or something...?" 

Auto's booming laugh ensued. Zero became slightly annoyed. Didn't this guy take offense to ANYTHING? Zero realised that he could probably throw a brick at Auto's head, and the guy would still be laughing. It was highly irritating. 

Nevertheless, Zero agreed to help Auto clean up. Eddie tagged closely at Zero's heels like a puppy while the reploid put items back on their designated shelves. He was obviously making sure that nothing was ripped off again. Zero was contemplating on whether or not his leg should 'accidently' thrust out behind him and kick Eddie in the face, when a nearby object that bore a brilliant lustre caught his eye. Zero dropped the armful of supplies he had scooped up, and walked in a trance to that shining object like a moth to a candle. It seemed to be calling his name. As he got closer to the object, he saw that it was a cylindrical handle of some sort of sword that lacked a blade. Very unusual, but Zero still streched out a tentative hand and drew the object towards him. It felt cool to the touch, and it was a healthy weight. Zero's hand seemed to become one with it, but he still was in the dark about just what it was... 

"Hey Auto - Man. What is this?" 

Auto looked over his shoulder. When he saw what Zero possesed, he waddled over to him. All the salesman instincts within him awoke with a vengence. 

"Isn't that a peachy little thing? It's the newest weapon on the market, and that's the sole one I posses. They were recently built to honour 'Lucas', the great god who was said to exsist way back in the 20th century. It's called a 'lightsabre'. You see that funky little button near the hilt? Push it." 

Zero did as he was told, and he got quite a start when a pulsating blade shot out of its lair. The blade emanated a harsh, neon green light. Zero instinctively gave a swipe with the blade. There was a deep - throated hum from the sabre as well as a faint trail of lime - coloured light in its wake. Zero was held in thrall by the wonder of the weapon. He had to have it. 

"That's the lightsabre!" Auto boomed on like a commercial. "Share it with your friends, scare your gramma with it! It comes with a neat sheath that is genuine leather! I'll let it go for a...somewhat low price." 

Zero's face fell. He didn't have any money, and he knew he couldn't steal this weapon. It was obviously worth a lot, and Auto would never let Zero just walk away with it. Yet, something had to be done. The lightsabre now owned Zero. It held him with its beauty and power. 

"I have no money, big guy...but I'll tell you, I just HAVE to have this. Isn't there some way you can just...give it to me?" 

Auto frowned thoughtfully. "I'll tell you what. We'll barter. I need some help around the store. We're busy lately. You help me around the store for a few months, and I'll let you have the sabre. Deal?" 

Zero considered this. It was still four months before he would be shut down. If he worked with Auto, he could pass the time and earn the lightsabre he loved. Two birds with one stone. The drawback? Zero knew he was going to have to summon every bit of will he possesed to keep his sanity while working with Auto. 

Still, the pros outweighed the cons, and Zero accepted. 

Auto pounded Zero on the back once again. Grimly, Zero realised that if Auto's outlandish behaviour didn't cease, he was going to have to do some pounding of his own. 

"Great, Zorro! Glad to have you aboard!" Auto quipped. 

"My name is Zero." 

"Ah, whatever." 

And so, time went on slippin' into the future, and Zero got a taste of what it was like to work. He didn't particularily care for labour, but what the hell, it gave him something to do. He carried his new lightsabre with him wherever he went. Auto gave him the leather sheath he had mentioned earlier, and the sabre now took residence on Zero's back. 

One fine day, about three months after he had begun the working life, Zero found himself carrying a large table on his back. He was huffing and creaking under the burden while Auto stood thoughtfully, thinking of where to put the simple piece of furniture. 

"Okay, big guy." Zero panted brokenly. "This thing ain't exactly light. Tell me where to drop it." 

"In a second. Do you think that table would look better by the door, or near the window?" 

Zero could feel acidic words rising in his throat and coating his tounge, just begging to be spit out, but Zero wisely swallowed them. "This isn't exactly a life or death desicion, Auto. Please hurry and decide before by shoulders break off." 

"All right." Auto said reluctantly. "Put it by the door." 

Zero promply did as he was told, glad to get rid of the weight. 

"No...wait...I've changed my mind. Put it by the window." 

Zero's temper began to mount. He wasn't a bloody beast of burden! Gritting his teeth, he snapped a leash on his lashing anger and held it back, an action that working with Auto had forced him to practice. And he was getting better at it, too. Wordlessly, Zero heaved the table onto his shoulders again and plunked it down by the window. 

"No wait...change of heart. Put it by the door again." 

"AUTO! MAKE UP YOUR FRACKIN' MIND!!" 

"Sorry, I can't help it if I'm indesicive!" 

Zero sighed and picked up the table again. He staggered over to the door and placed it there neatly while fixing Auto with an icy glare. "There you go, your Majesty. Is that kosher?" 

Auto beamed. "It's perfect! Thanks Zippo, you've been a great help!" 

Zero had just about given up on correcting Auto when the big bot got his name wrong, which was almost always. "Glad to be of service." He sighed. "Now, I'm going to my room to fetch something. I'll be right back." 

Auto nodded and waved him off. 

Zero trooped off to his small bedroom and fetched his lightsabre and sheath. He had been forced to remove them while he had been moving the table. He hummed contently as he started back to the main store. Auto was a dork, but he was nice, and life wasn't so bad after all. Even Eddie had been agreeable lately, despite the spat that he had had with Zero all those weeks back. 

When Zero saw the customer that was now browsing in the store, he froze. He expertly dodged into the shadows of the corridor mouth that yawned into the main room. Swathed in partial darkness, he felt a little bit better. He could not allow this customer to see him...not if Bass' plan was to go smoothly. 

The customer was Mega Man. The little blue bot was locked in a seemingly heavy conversation with Auto. Zero could not hear the words exchanged between the two, but Mega seemed to be bearing bad news, judging by the unusually downcast look in Auto's eyes. Suddenly, Auto swept Mega into a massive bear-hug. Zero smiled without humour. It was just that Mega's struggling little body in Auto's gargantuan arms reminded Zero of a rabbit caught in a bear-trap. 

Mega finally departed about fifteen minutes later, his arms loaded down with complex- looking materials. Zero let a sigh ease through him. He stepped out of the maw of the corridor and looked at the door casually. Despite the fact that his heart was still crashing against his ribs, he managed to keep his voice at a neutral tone. "So that was..." 

'Mega Man." Auto finished off sadly. "One of my bestest buddies. He killed an evil tyrant named Wily, quite by accident." 

"It was no accident!" Zero almost shrieked. Thankfully, he caught himself before he did so. Instead, he said, "Yeah, I've heard of Wily. From what I've been told, he deserved it." Zero immediately bit his tounge. 

"The media hasn't left the poor Blue Bomber alone since then." Auto sighed. "So he's sorta...leaving. He wouldn't tell me exactly what's going on, though." 

"Good riddance," Zero thought bitterly. 

"But he DID give me some good news. Skull Castle has recently been torn down." 

Zero's world silently crashed. His face drained of all colour. Luckily, Auto wasn't looking at him as this occoured. For his own safety, Zero pulled his casual face back on. "Well, I'm...glad to hear that. What do you suppose happened to all of Wily's bots that were in there?" 

Auto shrugged. "That's the funny part. They were all deactivated when the reporters got there. Even Bass and his dog." 

Bass. The very word brought a wave of loneliness crashing upon him. 

"The only living things that were found in the Castle were a large raven and a rare python. I don't know what happened to those two." 

Zero inwardly sighed as a tide of fond memories engulfed him. Flagg and Monty. "But what happened to the robots? Where are they now?" 

"Uhm...Mega mentioned that they were shipped to the Robot Museum, I believe." 

A sliver of ice worked its way into Zero's heart. What a fate for his brothers. Zero had once been to the Robot Museum. It hadn't been a nice experience....seeing his relitives and ancestors poised stiffly on display with faux expressions of bravado plastered on their faces for eternity had given Zero the creeps for a good long while after that. Their glassy, meaningless eyes were forever pegged on an unseen threat. Zero had hated it. 

"Something wrong, Zilcho?" Auto's voice sounded concerned. 

"Zero." Zero corrected automatically. "And no, nothing's really wrong. Just a little...tired out." 

"Hm. Get some rest, why don'tchya!" 

Wordlessly, Zero complied and lurched back to his room like a member of the undead. On his way, only one thought now pounded painfully on his mind: If Skull Castle was gone, where was he to hibrenate when the time came? His last days were on their way. 

"Whelp...I guess this is it, Rockster." 

"Yeah." Mega sighed heavily. 

Mega, Proto and the rest of the dispirited clan were regarding the sea-blue capsule that loomed before them, exactly 8 by 14 feet. 

Mega gulped. He knew that he was to enter this capsule for his own good and for the good of the future, but part of him resisted. Damned new emotions. Mega looked down at himself. He was now a reploid. His mind and body now had limitless power, which he could pracically feel ebbing from himself. A nameless power that was extremely dangerous. 

Mega regarded the capsule again with narrowed eyes. Once he entered that thing, he'd be plunged into a 30 year sleep, during which most of his memory would be wiped. Did he really want to go through with this? 

Light prodded at Mega's slugishness. "Come on, Rock. Step into the capsule. You've already said your goodbyes." 

Mega took one hesitant step towards the yawning mouth of the capsule. He threw a quick glance at Proto, who gave his brother the thumbs up. "Don't worry, Rocky Horror! I'll look after the city while you're snoozing. I just hope I don't screw up royal. I'm kidding! hehehe!" 

Mega returned the smile, and finally summoned up enough guts to step into the capsule. Light closed the door calmly, if not a bit tearfully. 

"And that is that." Roll sighed when the hydrolic hiss of the door subsided. "I just hope that no one is going to bother him for 30 years. What will we tell the reporters when they find that Rock's missing?" 

"We can tell them that he ran," Light said grimly while he pecked at some keys at his computer. "Not very noble, but that's the best I can think of at this time." 

"Oh no!" Roll nearly wailed. "Then everyone will think he DID kill Wily on purpose." 

"Everyone already thinks that." Light mumbled. "Now, silence please! I have to finish this warning in case anyone finds the capsule before 30 years is up." Light returned to his typing, dictating to himself as he did so. 

""X" is the first of a new generation of robots that contain an innovative new feature...the ability to think, feel, and make their own decisions..." 

Cloaked in the blackness of the moonless night, Zero stole one final glance at the store that had served as his home for four months. Big Eddie's. Zero was definately going to miss Auto, although he hardly admitted it to himself: the big bot was one of a kind. 

Zero found himself in the heart of the city. The place was calm. There wasn' t a trace of the ruckus that usually covered the streets. Only a few cars whispered by every five seconds or so. 

Streetlights placed soft orange islands on the black street. Zero dodged from one to another, heading towards his destination. Within minutes, it was before him. 

The subway station. 

Surely, this place could provide him some bedding for thirty years. Hopefully. Zero plunged into the station and glanced around. A few humans milled about lazily, none taking much interest in Zero. 

Zero made his way down to the trains. The ticket collecter was in his little booth, reading a magazine that seemed to hold all his interest. Therefore, it was no trouble for Zero to slip by unoticed. 

As he neared the tracks, Zero saw a subway charging and snorting down them like a mammoth steed. He waited patiently as the train roared in, emptied its passengers, loaded a few on, and resumed its dreary course. The place was deserted. Zero prepared to make his move. 

Making sure his lightsabre was strapped on securely, Zero lept onto the tracks and darted into the tunnel that the train had entered. He traveled down the murky chamber, his eyes searching for appropriate bedding. 

There! A nook! Zero flattened himself against the wall as he traveled deeper into it. Suddenly, sleepiness tugged on his circuts. Panicked, Zero began to speed up his journey. 

The nook made an 'L' shape. In the inky darkness, Zero felt along the wall, turned the corner and finally settled. This was to be his home for the next 30 years or so. He muttered a short prayer, hoping that the nook he rested in was really as unused as it appeared to be. 

Zero remembered Bass telling him that, without the capsule, Zero wouldn't awaken in exactly 30 years. It might be a bit more. It might be a bit less. The chip that Wily had planted in Zero at birth would take care of the job of putting him into a long sleep: hopefully, his systems wold be smart and would wake him up at the appropriate time. 

This concern was still settled on Zero's mind as he succumbed to the lull of the chip within him. He closed his eyes. The only ones to witness the beginning of his long hibernation was a family of mice who now had a big red robot sharing their nook, much to their disgust.

**_Continued in Book 2... _**

   [1]: mailto:red_draco@yahoo.com



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